Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Has $4.63 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,342 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,494 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company's stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company's stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $2.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $166.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,526,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,016. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average is $161.03 and its 200 day moving average is $178.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.