Johnson Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 3,007 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $189.04 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $178.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.61. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. 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 (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.61.

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.