Arnhold LLC Takes $1.36 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Arnhold LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,279 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,357,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 143.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company's stock worth $55,125,000 after acquiring an additional 294,083 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company's stock worth $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Hershey by 270.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,478,000 after purchasing an additional 144,103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Hershey Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HSY traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $193.92. 3,132,628 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,461. 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 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The company has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.66.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

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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