Davis Investment Partners LLC Increases Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,956 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.4% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.2% in the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Hershey by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Hershey by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $171.22.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $184.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $37.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $180.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.70. 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 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the 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 $900,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 three months, insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.