HighTower Advisors LLC Has $17.34 Million Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC has reduced its position in Hershey Company by 10.9%, owning approximately 101,366 shares worth $17.34 million after selling 12,381 shares.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, representing a 3.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 72.78%, which will be paid on September 15th.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.21 for the last quarter, beating estimates by $0.23, with revenue increasing 26.0% year-over-year to $2.61 billion.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,366 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,381 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Hershey worth $17,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 129.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. 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 upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Hershey in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $170.83.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock traded down $2.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $179.26. 1,171,062 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,680,631. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.08. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. 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 $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company insiders.

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.