Dearborn Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Dearborn Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 58.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,331 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,903 shares during the quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,212,000 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 the business. Concorde Financial Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 0.4% in the second quarter. Concorde Financial Corp now owns 17,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,895,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 219.9% in the 2nd quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 14,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,441,000 after acquiring an additional 10,111 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 24.1% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 70,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,770,000 after acquiring an additional 13,766 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $114,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

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

Hershey Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:HSY opened at $179.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87 and a beta of 0.19. 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 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $199.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.00.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 81.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.79.

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.