Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Buys 247 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 22.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,367 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 10.0% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after buying an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 179.4% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $5,383,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Hershey by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 91,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,633,000 after purchasing an additional 50,014 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 239.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,286,000 after purchasing an additional 15,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $181.26 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.55.

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.