Absher Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Absher Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 35.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,620 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,588 shares during the quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,126,594,000 after buying an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,123,000 after purchasing an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,305,000 after purchasing an additional 126,519 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Hershey by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,712,000 after buying an additional 144,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,420,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,731,000 after acquiring an additional 29,462 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $181.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 target price on shares of Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.32.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.2%

HSY stock opened at $179.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $36.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $199.00.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 81.91%.

About Hershey

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.