Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Decreases Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. significantly decreased its equity stake in Hershey Company by 71.9%, resulting in ownership of 8,904 shares worth approximately $1.48 million.
• Hershey's CEO, Michele Buck, sold 19,290 shares in July, reducing her ownership by 9.06%, while insiders collectively sold 40,080 shares worth about $7.59 million in the last quarter.
• Hershey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.9%, and reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with a revenue increase of 26% year-over-year.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. reduced its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 71.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,904 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,772 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Hershey by 4.8% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,078 shares of the company's stock worth $9,695,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares during the period. Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.9% during the second quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 44,389 shares of the company's stock worth $7,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Hershey by 11.1% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,185 shares of the company's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 11.3% during the second quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 5,194 shares of the company's stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,080 shares of company stock worth $7,594,590. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $186.18 on Tuesday. 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. The firm has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26. The business's fifty day moving average is $186.49 and its 200 day moving average is $175.05.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $193.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $176.21.

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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