Banco BTG Pactual S.A. Purchases New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Banco BTG Pactual S.A. has acquired a new position in Hershey Company, purchasing 1,630 shares valued at approximately $279,000 during the first quarter.
• Hershey reported a quarterly EPS of $1.21, exceeding analysts' estimates by 23 cents, alongside a strong revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with a payout ratio of 72.78% and a dividend yield of 3.0%.

Banco BTG Pactual S.A. purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 129.5% during 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. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $170.83.

Hershey Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of HSY opened at $181.6040 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $175.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. 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 prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.