Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC Acquires 86,707 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 2,890.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,707 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 86,707 shares during the quarter. Hershey makes up approximately 1.0% of Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $15,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.05.

Hershey Trading Down 1.0 %

Hershey stock traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $166.28. The company had a trading volume of 358,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,394. The firm has a market cap of $33.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.98.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.