Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by LaFleur & Godfrey LLC

Key Points

• LaFleur & Godfrey LLC reduced its holdings in Hershey Company by 7.8%, selling 3,450 shares, bringing its total ownership to 40,966 shares valued at approximately $6.8 million.
• Hershey reported better-than-expected earnings with an EPS of $1.21 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.23, while revenue increased by 26.0% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $5.48 and a yield of 2.9%.

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC reduced its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,966 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,450 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $6,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 129.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY traded up $2.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $192.48. 1,718,402 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,279,148. The business's 50-day moving average price is $183.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.21. The company has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 87,627 shares of company stock worth $16,043,435 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $173.89.

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.