The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $34.45 Million in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 196,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,447,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.10% of Hershey at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $185.77 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.00. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.78.

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.