Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,379,000 after acquiring an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. William Allan Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 173.1% in the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,785 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,757 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $55,269,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $192.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $186.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.09. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 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 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total value of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $175.89.

Hershey 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.