Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Invests $25.67 Million in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 146,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,672,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owned approximately 0.07% of Hershey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $179.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $179.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.