The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by 1832 Asset Management L.P.

1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,748 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.2% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,171,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 294,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,243,000 after buying an additional 11,720 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 365,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,141,000 after buying an additional 5,133 shares during the period. JT Stratford LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 49.9% during the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 1,665 shares during the period. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.4% during the first quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 23,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,654,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of HSY traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $193.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,504,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,560. The business has a fifty day moving average of $190.58 and a 200 day moving average of $192.52. The company has a market cap of $39.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $238.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) 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 had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Profile

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.