SPC Financial Inc. Has $605,000 Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

SPC Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,647 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 244.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 27,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,644,000 after purchasing an additional 19,855 shares in the last quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.3% during the second quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 55,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,194,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 29.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 21,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,489,000 after purchasing an additional 4,764 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 158.0% during the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 8,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 53.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $192.19 on Monday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.16.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $175.89.

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.