Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $1.40 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 11.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,412 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,150,000 after acquiring an additional 807,433 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Hershey by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. DA Davidson increased their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America increased 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, Barclays increased their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $174.05.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $194.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.84 and a 200-day moving average of $173.59. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 owned 58,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.