Blair William & Co. IL Sells 2,662 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 6.8% in the second quarter, selling 2,662 shares and now holding 36,285 shares valued at approximately $6.02 million.
• Hershey reported a net revenue of $2.61 billion for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and indicating a 26% year-over-year growth.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with a current dividend yield of 2.9% and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,662 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Hershey were worth $6,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company's stock worth $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock worth $272,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Hershey by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company's stock worth $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company's stock worth $174,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,311 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $192.19 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $186.17 and its 200 day moving average is $174.16. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey'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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HSY. Barclays upped their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $175.89.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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