Czech National Bank Raises Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Czech National Bank increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,174 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,241 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,720,000 after purchasing an additional 356,249 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Hershey by 25.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,858,000 after purchasing an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,710,000 after purchasing an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hershey by 0.8% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,590,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,092,000 after acquiring an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Hershey by 40.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,237,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,227,000 after acquiring an additional 356,105 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $3,472,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $34,852,320. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 86,127 shares of company stock valued at $15,759,755 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $189.30 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $182.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.15. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HSY. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $173.89.

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.