American Century Companies Inc. Has $133.77 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 16.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 806,075 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 115,641 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.40% of Hershey worth $133,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Hershey by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,753,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,858,000 after buying an additional 557,056 shares during the last quarter. Scharf Investments LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth $90,588,000. Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,706,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,720,000 after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 356,105 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Mizuho upped their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.74.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $186.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $37.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share 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 net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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 given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,933,079.64. This represents a 2.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Company 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.