Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 363,353 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management acquired 363,353 Hershey shares worth approximately $63.8 million, while institutional investors collectively own 57.96% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly cautious outlook, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $203.61.
• Hershey exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.90 in EPS and $2.79 billion in revenue, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, equivalent to a 3.1% annual yield.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 363,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,751,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Hershey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock worth $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after acquiring an additional 169,660 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Hershey by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company's stock valued at $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company's stock worth $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays cut their target price on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $201.00 price objective on shares of Hershey 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $203.61.

Hershey Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $189.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $178.15 and a 200 day moving average of $195.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.

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