Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stake Lessened by CapWealth Advisors LLC

CapWealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 10.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,122 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,867 shares during the period. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.9% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 43,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,374,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 16.5% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Hershey by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. AlTi Global Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $2,608,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,703,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,145,419.69. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.0%

Hershey stock opened at $182.13 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $199.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.22 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Argus upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.95.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.