Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 43.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 104,112 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $25,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 29.7% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at $505,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 46.0% in the second quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 10,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $190.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $186.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $201.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Morgan Stanley upgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $211.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Argus raised shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Barclays set a $210.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.83.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the transaction, the insider 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,119,450 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Profile

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.