AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Increases Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs raised its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,821 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs’ holdings in Hershey were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Hershey from $192.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $177.67.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of HSY opened at $179.52 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.26. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $10,654,698.88. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.