Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 1,537 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Central Bank & Trust Co. has reduced its position in Hershey Company by 9.4%, selling 1,537 shares, bringing its total holdings to 14,755 shares worth approximately $2.45 million.
• Hershey reported $2.61 billion in revenue for the quarter, exceeding estimates and seeing a 26% year-over-year increase, with earnings per share of $1.21, surpassing the consensus estimate.
• Insider transactions included CEO Michele Buck selling 19,290 shares valued at nearly $3.74 million, indicating a 9.06% decrease in her ownership of the stock.

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,537 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of HSY opened at $185.53 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 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. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $180.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.79.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $171.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hershey 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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