Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC has reduced its holdings in Hershey Company shares by 55.6%, selling 3,074 shares during the first quarter.
• Several other hedge funds have increased their positions in Hershey, with notable increases including Kennon Green & Company LLC by 33.3% and William Allan Corp by 173.1%.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, which will be paid on September 15th, representing an annual yield of 3.0%.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 55.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,455 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,074 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $420,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock worth $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 173.1% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company's stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock worth $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $170.83.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $185.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 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 50 day moving average is $179.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.20.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 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 yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

Hershey Company 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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