JLB & Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

JLB & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,748 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,143 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for 1.4% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 99.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 26,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,923,000 after acquiring an additional 13,133 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in Hershey by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 36,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 13,695 shares in the last quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 5,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 125,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,479,000 after purchasing an additional 7,132 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its holdings in Hershey by 356.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 15,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after buying an additional 12,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $190.60 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $201.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.11 and a 200-day moving average of $183.39. The company has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s 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, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Evercore ISI reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 price target on shares of Hershey and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total transaction of $298,005.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,319 shares in the company, valued at $10,394,215.73. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,119,450 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.