Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 14,432 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 81.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,432 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Oak Thistle LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 436.5% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 15,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,815,000 after buying an additional 12,243 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 33.7% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Rydar Equities Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $441,000. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $290,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE HSY opened at $184.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60 and a beta of 0.19. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $199.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $180.94 and its 200 day moving average is $180.83.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 expect 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 was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley raised Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.95.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.