Hershey Company (The) $HSY Holdings Raised by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 745,848 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,578 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.37% of Hershey worth $123,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $39,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 934.5% during the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of 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 reiterated a “mixed” rating and issued a $184.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $179.22 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.55. The company has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.