MAI Capital Management Has $2.79 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• MAI Capital Management has significantly reduced its holdings in Hershey Company by 67.0%, now owning 16,314 shares worth approximately $2.79 million.
• Institutional investors collectively hold 57.96% of Hershey's stock, with AXA S.A. increasing its stake by 17.6% in the last quarter.
• Hershey reported earnings of $1.21 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.23, with revenue of $2.61 billion.

MAI Capital Management lowered its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 67.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,314 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,186 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management's holdings in Hershey were worth $2,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Hershey by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 57,120 shares of the company's stock worth $9,673,000 after buying an additional 8,537 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $314,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 8,292 shares of the company's stock worth $1,404,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Concorde Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Concorde Financial Corp now owns 16,536 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 557,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,491,000 after purchasing an additional 44,955 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price 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. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $170.83.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $185.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $170.76. 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 Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Hershey Company 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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