Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Lowers Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA has reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 9.5%, now holding 15,846 shares valued at approximately $2.63 million.
• Insider sales have occurred, including a transaction where CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares for about $281,280, reflecting a 2.57% decrease in his ownership.
• Hershey recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA decreased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,846 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,670 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Hershey were worth $2,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock worth $140,150,000 after acquiring an additional 807,433 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 356,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Hershey by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,227,000 after buying an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,290 shares of company stock valued at $4,307,220. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $184.08 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $186.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.19. 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 company has a market capitalization of $37.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Piper Sandler upped 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 lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $176.83.

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.

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