Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 898 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at $5,383,000. Signet Financial Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 4,854 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Hershey by 119.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 91,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,633,000 after purchasing an additional 50,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $0.53 on Friday, hitting $184.43. 301,608 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,680,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $194.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.26. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

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.