Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $6.64 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 402.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,519 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,449 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $234,386,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $125,868,000. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth approximately $90,588,000. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,706,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Hershey by 44.7% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,232,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,549,000 after buying an additional 380,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. The trade was a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,145,419.69. This represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,102,725. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.32.

Hershey Trading Up 2.5%

HSY opened at $184.61 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. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $199.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.04 and its 200 day moving average is $181.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 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.