Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers reduced its Hershey stake by 9.8% in the first quarter, selling 11,481 shares and retaining 105,982 shares valued at approximately $22.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.96% of HSY.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Hershey has a consensus “Hold” rating from 23 analysts, with an average price target of $208.28. Several firms recently lowered their targets, including UBS to $190 and Piper Sandler and Deutsche Bank to $200.
• Hershey shares opened at $180.41, up 3.5%, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.35 versus the $2.04 consensus estimate and revenue of $3.10 billion, up 10.7% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.452, equivalent to a 3.2% yield.

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,982 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,481 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers owned approximately 0.05% of Hershey worth $22,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 546.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,439,000 after acquiring an additional 893,940 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 315.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,285,000 after acquiring an additional 822,772 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,731,000 after purchasing an additional 767,478 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4,478.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 586,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,666,000 after purchasing an additional 573,339 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hershey from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $208.28.

Hershey Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $180.41 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business's 50 day moving average is $180.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.91. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $36.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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