Global Retirement Partners LLC Invests $443,000 in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its position in Hershey by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 7.9% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 85,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,179,000 after purchasing an additional 6,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after buying an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 16.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 806,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,768,000 after buying an additional 115,641 shares during the period. Finally, Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the second quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 5,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,933,079.64. The trade was a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,103,640. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HSY. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued a “mixed” rating and issued a $184.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.74.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $188.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. 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 50-day moving average of $183.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.63. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.Hershey’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

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.