Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,599 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.95.

Hershey Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $184.41 on Friday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $199.00. The stock has a market cap of $37.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $180.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.04.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.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 firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.