Voya Investment Management LLC Has $6.18 Million Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 30.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,773 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.95.

Hershey Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $184.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60 and a beta of 0.19. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $199.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The company 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 81.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hershey

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.