Erste Asset Management GmbH Makes New Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH has acquired a new position in Hershey Company, purchasing 35,600 shares valued at approximately $6.05 million during the first quarter.
• Hershey's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.21, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.98, and a revenue of $2.61 billion, which was higher than expected.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.0%, set to be paid to shareholders on September 15th.

Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 35,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,047,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the company's stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 47.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 19,441 shares of the company's stock worth $3,292,000 after buying an additional 6,226 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 357,592 shares of the company's stock worth $60,558,000 after buying an additional 12,167 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,003,258 shares of the company's stock worth $169,895,000 after buying an additional 114,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 6,196 shares of the company's stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% 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 business'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 $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 trade represents a 7.54% 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 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $181.6040 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.27. 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 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $175.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $168.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $170.83.

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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