Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Lowers Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,347 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,184 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $177,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 12,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $171.22.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $185.53 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $180.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.79. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.