Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 58,315 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,859 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Hershey by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 17,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.5% during the third quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 28,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,290,000 after buying an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 99.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 26,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,923,000 after buying an additional 13,133 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Hershey by 61.0% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 36,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after buying an additional 13,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wendell David Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.3% in the third quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Hershey and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group upped their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.83.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $191.19 on Monday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $201.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $38.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $186.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th 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 Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 81.91%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total transaction of $298,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,394,215.73. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,119,450. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.