Ascent Group LLC Sells 7,005 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC significantly reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 81.9% in the first quarter, retaining only 1,547 shares valued at approximately $265,000.
• Hershey CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares at $194.00 each, marking a 9.06% decrease in her holdings, while CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares at $180.00, reflecting a 7.54% decrease in his position.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 72.78%, scheduled for payment on September 15th.

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 81.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,547 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,005 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Hershey by 25.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Hershey by 38.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hershey by 0.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Hershey by 40.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $185.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 939,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,411. 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 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.70.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey'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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $187.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $171.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.