Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.44 Million Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 33.3% in the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,379,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 173.1% in the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after buying an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its position in Hershey by 9.5% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 8.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at $55,269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This trade represents a 2.51% 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 valued at $12,206,910. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $195.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.44.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 72.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price 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.