NewEdge Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,572 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,659 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 240.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after buying an additional 891,287 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after buying an additional 605,048 shares during the period. Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $64,469,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $44,464,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after buying an additional 191,671 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $192.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $205.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.81.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.