Duality Advisers LP Raises Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,922 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,670 shares during the period. Hershey comprises about 0.7% of Duality Advisers LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Duality Advisers LP's holdings in Hershey were worth $6,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Hershey by 3.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company's stock worth $6,665,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 28.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,045,383,000 after purchasing an additional 216,715 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:HSY traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.02. 1,740,253 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,532,469. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $192.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The firm has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is an increase from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 60.55%.

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.

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