Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Purchases New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC has acquired a new stake in Hershey Company, purchasing 12,631 shares valued at approximately $2,096,000 during the second quarter.
• Several large investors have recently increased their stakes in Hershey, leading to 57.96% of the company's stock now being owned by institutional investors.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, representing a 2.9% yield, with a reported payout ratio of 72.78%.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,096,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays boosted 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 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 value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $189.00 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $185.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, analysts predict that 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 Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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