Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Talon Private Wealth LLC

Talon Private Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 27.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 598 shares during the quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $314,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Hershey by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 557,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,491,000 after buying an additional 44,955 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Hershey by 76.4% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 207,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,108,000 after buying an additional 89,720 shares during the period. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 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 $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $170.83.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $185.58 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $37.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.29.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

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.