HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,498 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $15,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $8,895,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 17,582.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 43,248,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,587,905,000 after purchasing an additional 43,003,663 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $314,000. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,951,000. Finally, Varenne Capital Partners bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,283,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Mizuho decreased their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.78.
Hershey Trading Down 0.8%
Hershey stock opened at $171.96 on Thursday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $178.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.52.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. The company 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%. Hershey’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.
Hershey Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.37%.
Insider Activity
In other news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.
About Hershey
The Hershey Company is a global confectionery and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, salty snacks and pantry products sold under brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s.
Milton S. Hershey founded the company in 1894, and its milk chocolate business helped establish Hershey, Pennsylvania, as a center of American chocolate production. The company has expanded beyond its original chocolate offerings through product development, licensing arrangements and acquisitions in the confectionery and snack categories.
Hershey serves consumers primarily in the United States and Canada and markets its products internationally through retail, e-commerce and other distribution channels.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Hershey
- Qualcomm’s Data Center Bet Looks More Real After Amazon’s AI Deal
- GE Aerospace’s $11.75B Deal Puts Howmet Aerospace in Focus
- Casey’s Post-Earnings Drop May Give Investors a Better Entry Into a Quality Retailer
- Sovereign AI: Palantir and Nebius Cut the Cloud Cord
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Hershey Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hershey and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
