Portfolio Design Labs LLC Invests $741,000 in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 4,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $741,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,126,594,000 after buying an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after acquiring an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,305,000 after purchasing an additional 126,519 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,712,000 after purchasing an additional 144,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position 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. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total transaction of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,933,079.64. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.74.

Hershey Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:HSY opened at $185.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.89. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. 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 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.91%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.