Liberty One Investment Management LLC Has $7.12 Million Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 32.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,076 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $275,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $999,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 15.0% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.5% in the second quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 2,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $193.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $182.04 and a 200-day moving average of $182.15. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $199.00. The company has a market capitalization of $39.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 81.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays set a $188.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price target on Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.32.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.