Freedom Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,228 shares of the company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 7.7% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Hershey by 25.4% in 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. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 0.8% in the first 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 boosted its position in Hershey by 40.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Hershey by 1.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Saturday. UBS Group upped their price target on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $177.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $179.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.32 and a beta of 0.26. 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.