Tobam Acquires 4,422 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Tobam boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 11.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,312 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,422 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises 2.8% of Tobam’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Tobam’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 4,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,129,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 29,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,929,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 59.4% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 65,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,842,000 after purchasing an additional 24,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Hershey by 59.4% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $172.70 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.02 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $184.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly 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. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The firm 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 company posted $2.34 EPS. The company’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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total value of $281,280.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays set a $188.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.05.

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.