Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Has $42.42 Million Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 255,641 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,295 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $42,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Optivise Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 5.1% in the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Piper Sandler raised Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $168.83 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $184.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.91%.

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.