Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 794.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,371 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of Hershey 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 sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE HSY opened at $183.92 on Friday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $177.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $170.83.

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.