Grimes & Company Inc. Sells 37,657 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Grimes & Company Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 38.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 59,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,657 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $853,720,000 after buying an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $3,472,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,852,320. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $174.05.

Hershey Stock Up 3.2%

Hershey stock opened at $195.04 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.26. 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 Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $185.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.25.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for 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 revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

About Hershey

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.