Wellington Management Group LLP Purchases 14,376 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 93,196 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,376 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $16,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 20.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 5.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $173.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $161.43 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.81 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.

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.