MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Has $1.59 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 75.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,076 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,895 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 39.2% in the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $446,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 29.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,916,000 after purchasing an additional 7,634 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in Hershey by 8.5% during the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 1,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $178.66 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.45. The company has a market cap of $36.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 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 Company has a twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.61.

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.