Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE HSY opened at $170.79 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $34.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

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.