Man Group plc Purchases Shares of 365,316 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 365,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,095,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Syon Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in Hershey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $187.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $178.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.27. 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. 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 year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.