Allianz Asset Management GmbH Trims Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,020 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,711 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 20.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Hershey by 4.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company's stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $173.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.86. The stock has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.43 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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