Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $2.35 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,622 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Hershey by 143.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 18,495.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,125,000 after buying an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 270.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,478,000 after purchasing an additional 144,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $193.70 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.33.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

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.