RWA Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 419.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,655 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,180 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 7.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 121.4% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Hershey by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Hershey by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $187.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.75.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

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.