35,948 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Acquired by Cibc World Market Inc.

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 35,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,307,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $187.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.27. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 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 (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

About Hershey

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.