Hershey Company (The) $HSY Position Raised by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,499 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,912 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Hershey worth $43,248,250 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company's stock worth $1,657,189,000 after acquiring an additional 169,660 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $485,436,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,871,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $170.72. 956,555 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,884,645. The company has a 50-day moving average of $178.21 and a 200 day moving average of $190.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HSY. Weiss Ratings upgraded Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey 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.

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