Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,194 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,085 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $16,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,092,000 after buying an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,536,000 after buying an additional 17,311 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Hershey
In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 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 $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,852,320. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased 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. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $170.83.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Hershey
Hershey Stock Performance
HSY stock traded up $3.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $183.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,108,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,811. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.41. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Hershey Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.
Hershey Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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