Grimes & Company Inc. Has $9.92 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Grimes & Company Inc. has reduced its stake in Hershey by 38.6% in Q2, now holding 59,803 shares valued at $9.92 million after selling 37,657 shares during the period.
• Hershey's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.21, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue for the quarter reaching $2.61 billion, a 26% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, with an annualized dividend of $5.48, resulting in a yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Grimes & Company Inc. lowered its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 38.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,803 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,657 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,150,000 after purchasing an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company's stock worth $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock worth $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Hershey by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company's stock worth $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $195.04 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $185.47 and a 200-day moving average of $173.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities 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 was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related 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 value of $283,680.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $174.05.

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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