Planned Solutions Inc. Purchases New Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Planned Solutions Inc. acquired 1,459 shares of Hershey Company during the second quarter, valued at approximately $242,000, as revealed in a recent SEC filing.
• Hershey's recent quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $1.21 per share against an estimated $0.98, with revenue of $2.61 billion, a 26% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a $1.37 quarterly dividend, reflecting a 2.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $187.88 on Friday. 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 market cap of $38.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $186.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.82.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $193.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $176.11.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company'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 $3,472,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.