MGO One Seven LLC Acquires 4,026 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 61.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,588 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,026 shares during the quarter. MGO One Seven LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Hershey by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 12.3% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.1% in the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 2.0%

HSY opened at $199.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $200.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.46.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price target on Hershey and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $188.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.