Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 358,307 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,932 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Hershey worth $62,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Hershey by 17,582.2% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 43,248,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,587,905,000 after acquiring an additional 43,003,663 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Hershey by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after buying an additional 124,464 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of HSY opened at $173.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $178.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.06. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, salty snacks and pantry products sold under brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s.

Milton S. Hershey founded the company in 1894, and its milk chocolate business helped establish Hershey, Pennsylvania, as a center of American chocolate production. The company has expanded beyond its original chocolate offerings through product development, licensing arrangements and acquisitions in the confectionery and snack categories.

Hershey serves consumers primarily in the United States and Canada and markets its products internationally through retail, e-commerce and other distribution channels.