Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 34,987 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,875,564 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,987 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.31% of Hershey worth $3,530,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $234,386,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 121.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after purchasing an additional 605,048 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth about $73,706,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 380,512 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $238.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.74.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $221.62 on Thursday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $234.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $196.65 and a 200 day moving average of $188.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 133.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total value of $298,005.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,319 shares in the company, valued at $10,394,215.73. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.