Korea Investment CORP Makes New $19.34 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 110,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,342,000. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.05% of Hershey as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Hershey by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Hershey by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $186.27 on Monday. 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 Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.40 and a 200-day moving average of $195.49. The company has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.