The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,126 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $374,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 19,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 119.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 91,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,633,000 after buying an additional 50,014 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 12.8% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 117,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,759,000 after buying an additional 13,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.3% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,031,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of HSY opened at $179.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $176.78 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $190.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.61.

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.