BSW Wealth Partners Sells 459 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

BSW Wealth Partners reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 459 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners’ holdings in Hershey were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 297.9% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after purchasing an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $179.26 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $190.76 and its 200 day moving average is $192.53. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $176.78 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.26 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current year.

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.