WINTON GROUP Ltd Invests $5.23 Million in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 27,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,232,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Hershey by 9.0% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 148,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,736,000 after buying an additional 12,241 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.1% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 128,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,087,000 after buying an additional 6,266 shares during the period. PFG Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 126.1% in the 3rd quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 14,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after acquiring an additional 7,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 49,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.21.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,901.54. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,153,645. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $222.86 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $207.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.42. The company has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a PE ratio of 51.35, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.14.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

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.