Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Boosts Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 30.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,953 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,106 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 356,105 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. 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 report on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $175.89.

Insider Activity

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

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $192.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $186.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.09. The company has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

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.