iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $23.48 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,525 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,132 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Hershey worth $23,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,126,594,000 after purchasing an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after buying an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,305,000 after buying an additional 126,519 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Hershey by 4.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,712,000 after buying an additional 144,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Hershey by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,420,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,731,000 after acquiring an additional 29,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average price of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. The trade was a 2.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Barclays set a $210.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price target on shares of Hershey and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.83.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $190.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $186.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.39. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $201.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued 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 net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.91%.

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.