Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 13,457 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 34.6%, selling 13,457 shares during the 2nd quarter, resulting in holdings worth approximately $4.2 million at the quarter's end.
• Several hedge funds have increased their stakes in Hershey, with Pacer Advisors Inc. growing its holdings by an impressive 6,721.3%, now owning over 819,000 shares valued at $140.15 million.
• The Hershey Company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, which represents an annualized payout of $5.48 and a dividend yield of 2.9%.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 34.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,393 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,457 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 356,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Hershey by 40.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,029,289.28. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $192.19 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $186.17 and its 200-day moving average is $174.16. The stock has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $175.89.

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.

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