The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,257 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 269 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.67.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $187.31 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $194.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.29. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $261.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $37.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Hershey Company 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.