AQR Capital Management LLC Has $36.67 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

AQR Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 24.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 214,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70,762 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $36,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC grew its position in Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,379,000 after buying an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp grew its position in Hershey by 173.1% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after buying an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Hershey by 9.5% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $55,269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $170.83.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of HSY opened at $185.58 on Monday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $179.01 and a 200-day moving average of $171.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,852,320. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.