Paralel Advisors LLC Makes New $1.95 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 11,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $2,303,889,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during 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 buying an additional 124,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was 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 owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $173.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $178.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.52. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

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.