Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Hershey Company by 38.8%, owning 5,143 shares valued at approximately $853,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Hershey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share with an annual yield of 3.0%, reflecting a payout ratio of 72.78%.
• Shares of Hershey Company reached a 1-year high of $208.03 and reported a notable 26.0% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.61 billion for the last quarter.

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 38.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,143 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. State of Wyoming grew its position in Hershey by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 420 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $20,595,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 13,103 shares of the company's stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,402 shares of the company's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $185.34 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $37.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $184.52 and a 200-day moving average of $172.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,627 shares of company stock worth $16,043,435. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.

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