Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has significantly reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 80.7%, now holding only 35,591 shares valued at approximately $6.09 million.
• Insider trading activity shows that both Rohit Grover and CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold a total of 86,127 shares worth over $15.7 million in July, indicating a decline in their ownership positions.
• Hershey's recent financial performance includes a quarterly revenue of $2.61 billion, exceeding estimates, with earnings per share of $1.21 compared to expectations of $0.98.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 80.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,591 shares of the company's stock after selling 149,269 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Hershey were worth $6,087,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC grew its position in Hershey by 33.3% in the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,379,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 173.1% in the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $55,269,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, 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 transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% 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 worth $15,759,755. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $170.83.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $185.71 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $177.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.76. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. 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 (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

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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