Claro Advisors LLC Sells 3,907 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Claro Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 68.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,798 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,907 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 10.0% during 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 in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake 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 period. Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth $5,383,000. Signet Financial Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 59.9% in the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,521,000 after acquiring an additional 4,854 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 119.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 91,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,633,000 after acquiring an additional 50,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.00.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $185.68 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.11. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the 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 owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.