EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 380 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,613 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four 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 data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.63.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $193.41 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $39.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.94. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.