Empowered Funds LLC Has $9.25 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 22.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,534 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,305,000 after acquiring an additional 126,519 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 40.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total value of $269,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,319 shares in the company, valued at $9,933,079.64. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,103,640. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $182.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $183.61 and a 200 day moving average of $176.73. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Barclays set a $188.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.05.

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.