Scharf Investments LLC Purchases New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake of approximately $90.6 million in Hershey Company, acquiring 545,858 shares, making Hershey 2.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Hershey's recent quarterly earnings beat consensus estimates, reporting $1.21 earnings per share, and its revenue increased by 26.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing a 2.9% annual yield, with a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 545,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,588,000. Hershey makes up 2.6% of Scharf Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Scharf Investments LLC owned about 0.27% of Hershey as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 18,311.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock worth $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company's stock worth $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Hershey by 40.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company's stock worth $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 87,627 shares of company stock valued at $16,043,435 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $173.89.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock traded up $2.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $192.48. The company had a trading volume of 1,718,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,148. The company's fifty day moving average is $183.14 and its 200-day moving average is $172.21. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid 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 yield of 2.8%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

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.