Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Ramirez Asset Management Inc.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 80.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the period. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,150,000 after acquiring an additional 807,433 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st 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. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 40.4% during the 1st 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE HSY opened at $192.19 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. 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 $38.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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 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 the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $3,472,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Hershey in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $175.89.

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.