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

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 43,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,660,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $232,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $239,000. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $342,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $894,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at $15,583,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $186.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.50. 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 Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 79.23%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.