Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 31.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,082 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,548 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Hershey by 339.3% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $1,859,600. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $194.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $152.21 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.78.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.