The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Arkadios Wealth Advisors

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 15.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 297.9% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after purchasing an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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 research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.0 %

Hershey stock opened at $177.56 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $176.78 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey 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.