CX Institutional Increases Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

CX Institutional increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,947 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Hershey were worth $489,000 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 bought and sold shares of HSY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the 1st 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 raised its stake in Hershey by 25.4% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 40.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,536,000 after acquiring an additional 17,311 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $188.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $184.86 and its 200 day moving average is $172.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for 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%.The company’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $174.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 87,627 shares of company stock worth $16,043,435 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.