Wealth Effects LLC Invests $389,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wealth Effects LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,117 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $1.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.04. 161,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,782,157. 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 market cap of $40.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $214.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $192.48 and its 200 day moving average is $193.22.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hershey from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America cut their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $202.79.

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.