Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank grew its stake in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE HSY opened at $170.51 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.60. The stock has a market cap of $34.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

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.