Cetera Advisors LLC Buys 115 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,556 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 20.0% in the second quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 46.7% in the second quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 240,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,979,000 after purchasing an additional 14,619 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Hershey by 7.2% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,187,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hershey by 0.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 652,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,048,000 after purchasing an additional 2,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.47% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $193.06 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $196.23 and a 200 day moving average of $226.76. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $183.74 and a 52 week high of $276.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.35.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.13. Hershey had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 54.74%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a $1.192 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $4.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $265.00 to $218.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, September 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $248.00 target price on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,413,912. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.56, for a total value of $35,409.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,027,742.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,413,912. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,682 shares of company stock worth $953,275. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.