Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Increases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its stake in Hershey Company by 6.4% during Q2, now owning approximately $23.5 million worth of shares.
• In the latest quarter, Hershey reported earnings per share of $1.21, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a revenue increase of 26.0% compared to the previous year.
• Recently, several analysts raised their price targets for Hershey, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $173.00 to $189.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,610 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,467 shares during the quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas owned approximately 0.07% of Hershey worth $23,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 46.0% during the second quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 10,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $505,000. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the second quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 21,305 shares of the company's stock worth $3,536,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tempus Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.5% during the second quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,098,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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 directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 87,627 shares of company stock worth $16,043,435. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $188.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $184.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.54. 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 one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given 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 yield of 2.9%. 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.

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