Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Hershey by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in Hershey by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $189.00 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $185.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.97. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $38.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Equities 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

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.