2,938 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Acquired by Vise Technologies Inc.

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 15.2% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 200.7% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 427 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 8.4% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 4,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 14,844.4% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays set a $188.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler upgraded Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.05.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $179.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.40.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 81.91%.

Hershey 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.