Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 28.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,338 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Hershey by 4.9% in the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 5.2% in the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 0.9% in the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley restated a “mixed” rating and set a $184.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.21.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $162.13 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. 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 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. 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 fiscal 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 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is 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.