The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases Shares of 196,337 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 196,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,447,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $185.77 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.87 and a 200-day moving average of $195.00. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) 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 net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.