The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 125.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 196,337 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,418 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Hershey were worth $34,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of 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 the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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 upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $173.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $178.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Hershey Company Profile

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.