Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Chapin Davis Inc.

Chapin Davis Inc. reduced its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Chapin Davis Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 87,627 shares of company stock valued at $16,043,435. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $192.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.21. 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 $39.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.27. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $173.89.

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.