Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Ramirez Asset Management Inc.

Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 80.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in Hershey by 4.9% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Hershey by 2.4% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their target price on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $175.89.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $192.19 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.