D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $2.75 Million Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

D.A. Davidson & CO. trimmed its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 11,946 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Hershey by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,536,000 after acquiring an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:HSY opened at $179.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $186.83 and its 200-day moving average is $175.58. 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 Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $177.67.

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.