Absher Wealth Management LLC Buys 900 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Absher Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,036 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for 0.4% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 179.4% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 119.8% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 239.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,286,000 after purchasing an additional 15,538 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Hershey by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1 %

HSY stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $177.48. 90,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,662,620. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $176.78 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.10 and its 200 day moving average is $192.42. The firm has a market cap of $35.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.61.

Hershey 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.