Nordea Investment Management AB Increases Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 833.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,314 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 165,458 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.09% of Hershey worth $33,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $234,386,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 240.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after buying an additional 891,287 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $125,868,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $206,559,000 after buying an additional 605,048 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Hershey by 44.7% during the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,232,595 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,549,000 after buying an additional 380,512 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens boosted their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.68.

Hershey Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $215.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $214.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.70. The company has a market cap of $43.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.59, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Hershey Company has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 133.87%.

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.