Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 269,888 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,153 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.13% of Hershey worth $46,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 6,721.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Hershey by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,269,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey
In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was 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 valued at $15,759,755. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hershey Stock Performance
NYSE:HSY traded down $0.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $184.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,112,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,354. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $178.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.86.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.Hershey's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.
Hershey Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler raised 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. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $170.83.
View Our Latest Analysis on Hershey
About Hershey
(
Free Report)
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.
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