Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Purchases 1,464 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at $328,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 284.7% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after acquiring an additional 4,404 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at $128,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 2.3% during the second quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 30,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,020,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 173.4% during the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $195.04 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $185.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.15. The stock has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

About Hershey

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.