43,659 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Acquired by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 43,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,660,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 Trading Down 1.1%

HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.43 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.11. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.50.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued 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 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven 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 a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.