Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Purchased by Greenleaf Trust

Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,003 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 2.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Hershey by 3.3% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 329,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,407,000 after acquiring an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Hershey by 5.9% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 33,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,899 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 113,833.3% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 51.6% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 27,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,762,000 after buying an additional 9,475 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.6%

Hershey stock opened at $187.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.92 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $174.05.

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.