Hershey Company (The) $HSY Position Boosted by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. CWM LLC grew its position in Hershey by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 45.9% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 4.0% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 28,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.05.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE HSY opened at $179.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $183.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.32. The stock has a market cap of $36.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.82, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.Hershey’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

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.