Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,426 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.09% of Hershey worth $31,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after acquiring an additional 557,056 shares in the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $90,588,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in Hershey by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.21.

Hershey Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $167.80 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $185.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.92. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.91%.

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.