Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Purchased by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 15.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,247 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,553 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $224,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $55,269,000. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 106.1% in the first quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 145,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,745,000 after purchasing an additional 74,894 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 694.5% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 16,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 14,217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. This trade represents a 2.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $185.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.89. 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 fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $37.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “mixed” rating and issued a $184.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.74.

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.