Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 680 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Leavell Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho boosted 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. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. 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 report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $177.67.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $179.52 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $186.83 and a 200-day moving average of $175.65.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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, 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.