Spire Wealth Management Sells 779 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Spire Wealth Management lowered its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,339 shares of the company’s stock after selling 779 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the second quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $166.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.02. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “mixed” rating and set a $184.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.21.

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.