New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $3.68 Million Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,184 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $193.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $171.43 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.