SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Decreases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,859 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,037 shares during the quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $234,386,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $125,868,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $90,588,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,706,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE HSY opened at $182.05 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $181.85 and a 200-day moving average of $179.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $199.00. The firm has a market cap of $36.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.