Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 1,536 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired 1,536 shares of Hershey Company valued at approximately $255,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Hershey, with Bank of America increasing theirs from $175.00 to $208.00, indicating positive sentiment towards the company.
• Hershey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing a 3.0% annualized yield, with a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $183.77 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $185.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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