Leavell Investment Management Inc. Has $1.51 Million Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Leavell Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,150,000 after purchasing an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Hershey by 40.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $179.52 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.65. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Insider Transactions 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 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 owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,290 shares of company stock valued at $4,307,220. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $177.67.

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.