AQR Capital Management LLC Has $36.67 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 24.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 214,893 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,762 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Hershey worth $36,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hershey by 18,311.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 6,721.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Hershey by 38.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 7.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.9%

HSY stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $183.90. The company had a trading volume of 198,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,777,170. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.66. The company has a market capitalization of $37.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,852,320. This 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 have sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $171.22.

Hershey Company 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.