Summit Financial LLC Has $408,000 Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Summit Financial LLC cut its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 25.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,387 shares of the company’s stock after selling 802 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Hershey by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,000,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Hershey by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 2,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in Hershey by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Hershey by 568.7% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 38,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,582,000 after buying an additional 33,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $181.4760 on Monday. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $176.26 and a 200-day moving average of $169.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America raised 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 target on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $170.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 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 value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.