The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,065 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Up 1.9 %

HSY stock opened at $168.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $34.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.30. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.