Northern Trust Corp Increases Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Hershey Company by 0.8%, owning approximately 1.59 million shares valued at $272 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.0%, set to be paid on September 15th.
• The company reported a 26.0% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share at $1.21, surpassing analyst expectations.

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.79% of Hershey worth $272,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Hershey by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 5.2% in the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 0.9% in the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Hershey by 0.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 2.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $170.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $2.1160 on Friday, reaching $181.4760. 1,110,298 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,701. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $176.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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