Pacific Point Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Pacific Point Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,792 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises 0.9% of Pacific Point Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Pacific Point Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 40.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 worth $12,206,910. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target 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 raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $187.08 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.73. The company has a market capitalization of $37.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts expect 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 issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date 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.