Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Grows Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,383 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $224,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $55,269,000. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 3,087 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 106.1% during the 1st quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 145,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,745,000 after purchasing an additional 74,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 694.5% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.05.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $183.25 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $183.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.69. The company has a market capitalization of $37.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.