TRUE Private Wealth Advisors Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,904 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $411,828,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Hershey by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Hershey by 2,693.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,094,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,559 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Hershey by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,352,000 after purchasing an additional 964,019 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Hershey by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,378,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,202,000 after purchasing an additional 369,940 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $182.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.11. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.