Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC Has $3.50 Million Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Hershey comprises 2.3% of Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.5% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 2,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.7% in the first quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth about $286,000. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.6% in the first quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 225.9% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 46,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,000,000 after acquiring an additional 32,422 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 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 value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America increased their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $174.05.

Hershey Stock Up 3.2%

HSY stock opened at $195.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $185.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.19. The company has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

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.