Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Purchases 1,491 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,417 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,491 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,150,000 after purchasing an additional 807,433 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,710,000 after acquiring an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,269,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $170.83.

Hershey Stock Down 1.3%

HSY opened at $179.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

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.