AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Buys New Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs has acquired 6,219 shares of Hershey Company, valued at approximately $999,000, during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds made significant increases in their positions in Hershey, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 18,311.7% during the same period.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, representing a 3.0% dividend yield, with an ex-dividend date set for August 15th.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $999,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Bank of America upped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $173.89.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5%

HSY traded up $0.97 on Friday, reaching $190.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 394,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,771,333. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $38.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were 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 was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.