Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. reduced its holdings in Hershey Company by 23.2% in the first quarter, selling 3,251 shares and bringing its total shares owned to 10,746.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Banco BTG Pactual S.A. and Credit Agricole S A, have recently acquired stakes in Hershey, with institutional ownership now at 57.96%.
• Hershey reported a 26.0% year-over-year revenue increase, posting $2.61 billion during the quarter, significantly surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion.

Candriam S.C.A. lessened its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,746 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,251 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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. Insiders sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $170.83.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY traded up $2.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $183.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,325,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,620,437. The stock has a market cap of $37.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.35, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $176.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.89. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. 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 is presently 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.