Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stock Position Raised by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Hershey stake by 10% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.40 million shares worth approximately $290.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 57.96% of HSY.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $203.61 after several brokerages lowered their targets.
• Hershey reported quarterly earnings of $1.90 per share and revenue of $2.79 billion, beating estimates and delivering 6.6% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, representing a 3.3% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,395,644 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 127,113 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.69% of Hershey worth $290,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock worth $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company's stock worth $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock worth $1,356,681,000 after acquiring an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company's stock worth $967,343,000 after acquiring an additional 124,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Hershey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.61.

Hershey Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $177.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $178.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.60. 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 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue for the quarter 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 analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.23%.

Hershey Company 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.

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