Capital International Investors Sells 1,725,251 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Capital International Investors trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 16.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,936,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,725,251 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned about 4.41% of Hershey worth $1,671,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Argus upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.21.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $222.86 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $207.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $45.17 billion, a PE ratio of 51.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.14.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 133.87%.

Hershey Company 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.