State Street Corp Sells 92,760 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• State Street reduced its Hershey position by 92,760 shares, or 1.3%. It still owned 7.23 million shares worth approximately $1.27 billion, representing a 3.6% stake; institutional investors collectively own 57.96% of Hershey.
• Analysts maintain a cautious outlook, with Hershey receiving an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $204.78. Recent target changes generally ranged from $190 to $200.
• Hershey exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.90 in EPS and $2.79 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 6.6% year over year. The company also pays a $1.452 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.5% yield.

State Street Corp lowered its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,227,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 92,760 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 3.60% of Hershey worth $1,268,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $485,436,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,871,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their target price 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. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $168.29 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $177.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 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 $33.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.

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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