Rhumbline Advisers Has $61.89 Million Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,048 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.16% of Hershey worth $61,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,126,594,000 after acquiring an additional 210,131 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after purchasing an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,305,000 after purchasing an additional 126,519 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Hershey by 4.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,712,000 after purchasing an additional 144,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,420,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,731,000 after purchasing an additional 29,462 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 2.0%

HSY stock opened at $226.28 on Friday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $234.87. The stock has a market cap of $45.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $193.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.