Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stock Holdings Decreased by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lessened its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,527 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Hershey were worth $16,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $90,588,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,706,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued a “mixed” rating and set a $184.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $183.25 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.68 and its 200-day moving average is $176.69. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey 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.