Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,592 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank raised its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $173.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $160.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Company 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.