Woodstock Corp Purchases 2,794 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Woodstock Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,856 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,794 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. The trade was a 2.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $187.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $199.00. The stock has a market cap of $38.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07 and a beta of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $181.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.90.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on HSY shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays set a $188.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hershey from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.16.

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.