Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,576 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 6th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.16.

Hershey Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $183.22. The stock had a trading volume of 519,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,863,109. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.89. The stock has a market cap of $37.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,731 shares of company stock valued at $13,620,438 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.