Legal & General Group Plc Sells 22,719 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Posted by Brian Himes on May 28th, 2026

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,001,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,719 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $182,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 339.3% in the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 3.6%

NYSE:HSY opened at $198.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $154.37 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 108.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.06.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on HSY

Hershey Profile

(Free Report)

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.