HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Purchases Shares of 2,983 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Weiss Ratings raised Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.61.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE HSY opened at $181.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $177.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.68. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.37%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.