The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Increased by Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.

Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,740 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 grew its position in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 297.9% in 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 during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $187.60 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $196.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.71. The stock has a market cap of $37.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business 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%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.90.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey 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.