Commerce Bank Buys New Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Commerce Bank bought a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,781,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after buying an additional 191,671 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after acquiring an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after acquiring an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after acquiring an additional 124,464 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $187.18 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $178.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.27. The stock has a market cap of $37.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

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. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.