Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH Acquires Shares of 167 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 92.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $336,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crane Advisory LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $261,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $175.89.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of HSY opened at $189.18 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.15 and a 200 day moving average of $174.29. 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 firm has a market cap of $38.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

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.