Geode Capital Management LLC Has $755.31 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 126,519 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.25% of Hershey worth $755,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William Allan Corp raised its holdings in Hershey by 173.1% in the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $224,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth $55,269,000. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 39.7% in the first quarter. Harvest Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 3,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Hershey by 21.5% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 710,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,477,000 after purchasing an additional 125,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $178.47 on Friday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.05.

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.