Farther Finance Advisors LLC Purchases 3,160 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 55.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,808 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,160 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $1,040,000. Beacon Financial Group acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $367,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Finally, Global View Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $253,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $0.90 on Friday, reaching $171.22. 1,071,347 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,842,241. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $163.57 and a 200 day moving average of $165.76. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.07 EPS. Hershey's revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.