The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Raised by Weatherly Asset Management L. P.

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,812 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Hershey by 71.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.61.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $179.26 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $176.78 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.39. The firm has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

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

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.