Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Has $795,000 Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 31.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,703 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $162.12 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $165.54 and its 200 day moving average is $172.88. The firm has a market cap of $32.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.