Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Acquires 31,994 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 102.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,116 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,994 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 5.1% in the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the second quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.56, for a total transaction of $269,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 55,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,933,079.64. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,103,640. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $186.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $183.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.91. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.74.

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.