Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1,774.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,867 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 59,513 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $443,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.7% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 136,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,601,000 after buying an additional 2,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.6% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $213.43 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $150.04 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $43.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $215.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho increased their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 $452,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total value of $325,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,974,210.99. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,945 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company 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.