The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock Position Lifted by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 884.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,037 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $684,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Hershey by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,860,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Hershey by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 107,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,784,000 after acquiring an additional 6,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 89,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,651,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE HSY traded down $0.54 on Friday, reaching $199.08. The stock had a trading volume of 2,235,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,185. The company has a market capitalization of $40.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.72. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $233.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Bank of America cut their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Hershey from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.50.

Hershey Company 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.