BlackRock Inc. Invests $2.30 Billion in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,131,312 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,303,889,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 6.47% of Hershey as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 237.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,454,000 after buying an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $2,744,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Hershey by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company's stock worth $17,508,000 after acquiring an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $3,182,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $191.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $203.61.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $189.04 on Thursday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.43 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $195.61.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source