Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 4,221 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lowered its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,221 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Hershey were worth $18,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 356,249 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings 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 valued at $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $272,092,000 after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 40.4% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,227,000 after purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $174,536,000 after purchasing an additional 17,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of HSY opened at $189.18 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $38.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its 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. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $175.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.