Quadrant Capital Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 82.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,781 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,160 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,123,000 after buying an additional 125,100 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,305,000 after acquiring an additional 126,519 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,712,000 after acquiring an additional 144,640 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,933,079.64. The trade was a 2.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,103,640 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $185.54 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $183.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The company 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%. Hershey’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. 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 Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.