Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Purchases Shares of 18,789 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,503,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1,263.3% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 13,997 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $2,332,000. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $4,173,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $882,405 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.56.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $196.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,107,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,568. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $195.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $263.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

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.