Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 15.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,877 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 381 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Hershey by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Hershey by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,536,000 after acquiring an additional 17,311 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of Hershey 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 $240,120.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $185.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is 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.