Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Acquires Shares of 2,896 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1%

HSY stock opened at $186.27 on Friday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.43 and a one year 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $178.40 and its 200 day moving average is $195.50. The firm has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.