Abacus Planning Group Inc. Has $224,000 Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Abacus Planning Group Inc. decreased its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 17.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 295 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,379,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp increased its position in Hershey by 173.1% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,785 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Hershey by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $55,269,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 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 value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 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 $3,472,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of HSY opened at $195.04 on Friday. 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. The firm has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $185.47 and its 200-day moving average is $173.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey’s 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. Equities 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 was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 72.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $174.05.

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.