Swedbank AB Raises Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,816 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 522 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Hershey were worth $24,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,728,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,127 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,150,000 after purchasing an additional 807,433 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,710,000 after purchasing an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $171.22.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:HSY opened at $184.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.71. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company’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. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of Hershey 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 $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Hershey

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.