Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 3,102 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 29,569 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $177.18 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.92. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $35.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.84.

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.