DAVENPORT & Co LLC Decreases Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 33.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,564 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $175.89.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $195.54 on Thursday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.74.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s payout ratio 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.