Wellington Management Group LLP Has $1.95 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Hershey Company by 794.6% in the first quarter, now owning 11,371 shares valued at nearly $1.95 million.
• Hershey reported a 26.0% year-over-year revenue growth in its most recent quarterly earnings, achieving $2.61 billion, and beat EPS estimates by $0.23.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.0%, to be paid on September 15th.

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 794.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,371 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hershey by 18,311.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,728,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,127 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock worth $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock worth $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock worth $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $55,269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of HSY traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $184.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 265,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,801,250. The firm has a market cap of $37.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $178.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $170.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This 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 through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $170.83.

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.