Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by West Family Investments Inc.

by · The Markets Daily

West Family Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,857 shares of the company’s stock after selling 277 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $28,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. The trade was a 2.18% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 55,319 shares in the company, valued at $9,933,079.64. This trade represents a 2.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on HSY shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.74.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Hershey

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $188.08 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $183.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.63. The company has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

About Hershey

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report).