The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Raised by RWA Wealth Partners LLC

RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 419.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,655 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,180 shares during the quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.4% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.7% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $187.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.