The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,204 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,742 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 13.3% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 3.7% in the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 2.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.61.

Hershey Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $191.00 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.09. The company has a market cap of $38.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

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.