Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 74,015 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,213 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,015 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Fort Vancouver Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at $34,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at $6,852,240. This trade represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,704 shares of company stock valued at $12,206,910 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE HSY opened at $189.00 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $185.32 and a 200-day moving average of $172.97. The firm has a market cap of $38.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $174.05.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.