The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stake Increased by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,538 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $349,448,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 18,495.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,182,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,683,000 after purchasing an additional 271,636 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth $35,090,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 483.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 139,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,079,000 after purchasing an additional 115,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $184.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $194.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.20. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $251.73. The stock has a market cap of $37.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. 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 report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total value of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.