Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Makes New $22.68 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 121,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,680,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 1.1% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after buying an additional 125,100 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,305,000 after acquiring an additional 126,519 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 4.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,712,000 after acquiring an additional 144,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Hershey by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 101,305 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,153,645 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stephens lifted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $238.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $222.86 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $45.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.35, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $207.91 and its 200 day moving average is $192.42.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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 given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 133.87%.

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.