Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Purchases 74,894 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

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Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 106.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,457 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,894 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA owned 0.07% of Hershey worth $24,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. 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 presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $170.83.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $2.1160 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $181.4760. 1,110,298 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,839,830. The company has a market cap of $36.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. 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's fifty day moving average is $176.26 and its 200 day moving average is $169.34.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The company 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%.Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Hershey

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.