Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 4,221 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB reduced its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,221 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB owned 0.05% of Hershey worth $18,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $175.89.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 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 value of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $189.18 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.29. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $38.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend 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.