Focus Partners Wealth Buys 20,673 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Hershey Company by 10.0%, acquiring an additional 20,673 shares during the 1st quarter, totaling approximately $38.95 million.
• Hershey's CFO, Steven E. Voskuil, sold 5,000 shares for a total of $900,000, representing a decrease in ownership of 7.54%.
• Research firms have raised price targets on Hershey shares, with Bank of America setting a price objective of $208.00, while the latest earnings report showed a 26.0% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,762 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,673 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned approximately 0.11% of Hershey worth $38,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrity Alliance LLC. acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $261,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in Hershey by 401.2% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 4,220 shares of the company's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 3,378 shares in the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $292,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Hershey by 95.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 72,246 shares of the company's stock worth $12,356,000 after purchasing an additional 35,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $315,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $171.22.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $185.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $37.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.61. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

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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