Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its shares in Hershey Company by 8.2%, resulting in a total of 20,046 shares valued at approximately $3.43 million as of the end of the recent quarter.
• Insider sales included Rohit Grover selling 1,334 shares and Jennifer Mccalman selling 974 shares, leading to a combined sale of 118,311 shares worth around $20.93 million in the last quarter.
• Hershey announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, which will be paid on September 15th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.1%.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,046 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,524 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $170.83.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $2.1160 during trading on Friday, reaching $181.4760. The company had a trading volume of 1,110,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,839,830. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $176.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business'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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.