Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,065 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 6.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 3,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of HSY opened at $168.44 on Thursday. The firm 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s fifty day moving average is $163.35 and its two-hundred day 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction 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.

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.