WBI Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC acquired 15,637 shares of Hershey Company, valued at approximately $2.7 million, indicating a renewed interest from institutional investors in the chocolate manufacturer.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Hershey, with Bank of America increasing its target from $175 to $208, while the consensus rating for the stock remains a cautious "Reduce."
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, yielding 3.0%, as the company continues to show strong quarterly earnings, beating expectations with a reported EPS of $1.21.

WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,674,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Hershey by 25.4% during 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock worth $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 0.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock worth $272,092,000 after buying an additional 11,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake 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. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $171.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

HSY opened at $185.71 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average is $179.86 and its 200-day moving average is $171.61. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $37.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

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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