Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 7,107 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. has reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 3.2%, selling 7,107 shares and now owns approximately 213,442 shares valued at $36.5 million.
• Hershey reported a 26% year-over-year revenue increase, posting $2.61 billion for the last quarter and an EPS of $1.21, beating expectations by $0.23.
• The company will distribute a quarterly dividend of $1.37 to shareholders on September 15th, resulting in an annualized yield of 3% and a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 213,442 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,107 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.11% of Hershey worth $36,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,728,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $140,150,000 after acquiring an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $275,710,000 after acquiring an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company's stock worth $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth $55,269,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of HSY traded up $3.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $183.92. 1,108,713 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,422,811. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a PEG ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.27. The business's 50-day moving average price is $177.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.41. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 86,127 shares of company stock worth $15,759,755. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $170.83.

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.