J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Buys 485 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,712 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $187.10 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The firm has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

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.