Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Mufg Securities Americas Inc.

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 25.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,280 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $90,588,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $73,706,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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 that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total transaction of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. This trade represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,103,640 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $186.11 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $183.59 and a 200-day moving average of $177.13.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly 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 for 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%.The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 81.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hershey from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.74.

Hershey Company 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.