American Century Companies Inc. Sells 20,575 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 2.9%, holding 690,434 shares worth approximately $118 million after selling 20,575 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider transactions included CFO Steven E. Voskuil selling 5,000 shares for $900,000, resulting in a 7.54% decrease in his ownership share.
• Hershey recently declared a $1.37 quarterly dividend, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 72.78%.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 690,434 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,575 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.34% of Hershey worth $118,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 target price on the stock. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $170.83.

Hershey Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $2.13 on Friday, hitting $181.49. The company had a trading volume of 464,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,835,582. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $176.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.08. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.