US Bancorp DE Acquires 4,484 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its investment in Hershey Company by acquiring 4,484 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 402,266 shares worth $66.76 million.
• Hershey reported a 26% year-over-year revenue increase for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $1.21 exceeding estimates by $0.23.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, translating to an annualized rate of $5.48 and a yield of 2.8%.

US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 402,266 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,484 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned about 0.20% of Hershey worth $66,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares during the last quarter. 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. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company's stock worth $174,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,311 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $192.29 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 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. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $186.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.91. The firm has a market cap of $38.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% 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 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price 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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