Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 238,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,823 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $39,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its position in Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 5.1% during the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 0.9% in the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

HSY stock opened at $178.47 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The business’s 50-day moving average is $184.07 and its 200 day moving average is $176.21. 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 stock has a market cap of $36.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler raised Hershey from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $167.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.05.

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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.