1,844 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Bought by MBB Public Markets I LLC

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 1,844 shares of Hershey Company, valued at approximately $315,000, marking a new position for the institutional investor.
• CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock for approximately $3.74 million, representing a 9.06% decrease in her ownership in the company.
• Hershey recently reported a 26% year-over-year revenue increase with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21, beating analysts' expectations of $0.98 for the quarter.

MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,728,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,127 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 6,721.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock worth $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company's stock worth $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock worth $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock worth $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $171.22.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, reaching $184.95. 871,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,110,049. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is 72.78%.

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.