California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 43,003,663 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 17,582.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,248,250 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,003,663 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.22% of Hershey worth $7,587,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $274,871,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $272,506,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $183,623,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $173.25 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $178.76 and a 200 day moving average of $191.86. The company has a market capitalization of $34.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey’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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 79.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.