The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Evexia Wealth LLC

Evexia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,631 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for 1.7% of Evexia Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Evexia Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Hershey by 143.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,039,000 after buying an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,125,000 after acquiring an additional 294,083 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Hershey by 270.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,478,000 after purchasing an additional 144,103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of HSY traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $198.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,047,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,989,480. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $275.89. The firm has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $192.30 and its 200 day moving average is $190.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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 shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.