Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 219 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,185 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 5,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 6,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the last quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 45,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,558,000 after purchasing an additional 4,630 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $193.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $176.21.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $186.18 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $186.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,080 shares of company stock worth $7,594,590. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.