First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New $4.54 Million Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,540,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 270.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,478,000 after buying an additional 144,103 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

HSY stock opened at $186.23 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $191.74 and a 200-day moving average of $190.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.