1,349 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Purchased by Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. has invested $222,000 in Hershey Company by acquiring 1,349 shares in the second quarter, as disclosed to the SEC.
• Hershey's stock analysts have recently increased target prices, with notable adjustments from firms like Sanford C. Bernstein and DA Davidson, showcasing growing optimism around the company's performance.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.21, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, yielding 2.9% on an annualized basis.

Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock worth $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company's stock worth $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Hershey by 40.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company's stock worth $208,227,000 after buying an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,536,000 after acquiring an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $173.89.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY traded up $2.30 on Monday, hitting $192.48. 1,718,402 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,279,148. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week 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's 50-day moving average price is $183.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.21. The firm has a market cap of $39.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 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 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,627 shares of company stock valued at $16,043,435 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.