International Assets Investment Management LLC Sells 681 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

International Assets Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 19.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $193.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $176.83.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $186.38 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $186.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.13. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $37.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220. 0.28% of the stock is owned by 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.