Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $340,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,849 shares of the company’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $195.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.07. The firm has a market cap of $39.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

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.