Madison Asset Management LLC increases stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Madison Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) by 2,665.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The company owned 29,451 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,386 shares during the same period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $5,491,000, according to the company's most recent SEC filing.

Other major investors have also changed their hold on the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 222,960 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $349,448,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,052,000 after purchasing an additional 35,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,170,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,260,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the shares are owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider activities at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock on Tuesday, April 23. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. After the sale, the CFO now owns 38,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC's website. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,405, over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the shares are owned by insiders.

Hershey shares rise 2.4%

HSY shares rose $4.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.83. 3,878,345 shares of the company traded hands, compared to an average volume of 1,637,637. The company's 50-day moving average is $195.38 and its 200-day moving average is $192.45. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $263.29. The stock has a market cap of $40.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3. The company reported earnings per share of $3.07 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company posted revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted earnings per share of $2.96. The company's quarterly revenue grew 8.9% year-over-year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will report earnings per share of $9.6 for the current fiscal year.

Hershey announces dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will receive a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents an annualized dividend of $5.48 and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Analysts set new price targets

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports lately. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from “outperform” to “neutral” in a report on Tuesday, March 26 and set a $208.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9. Argus lowered their price target on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “Equal Weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.56.

Check out our latest analysis on HSY

Hershey Company Profile

(Free report)

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of candy and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Candy North America, Salty Snacks North America, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate candy, gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gum, and bubble gum, protein bars, pantry items such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and ice cream syrups, and snack items such as spreads, bars, snack bites, mixed drinks, popcorn, and pretzels.

Further information

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