Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Raises Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,278 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $876,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the first 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 during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 25.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after buying an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 40.4% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after buying an additional 356,105 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,020,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,536,000 after buying an additional 17,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,290 shares of company stock valued at $4,307,220. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $181.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $36.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $176.83.

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.