Vise Technologies Inc. Buys New Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,934,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,744,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after buying an additional 47,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,182,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $255,000.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $178.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.50. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given 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 is currently 79.23%.

Hershey 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.