OLD National Bancorp IN Buys 22,824 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 895.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,373 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,824 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 7.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in 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 period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $195.04 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $185.47 and a 200-day moving average of $173.25. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a PE ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $174.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 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 $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 $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.