Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Acquired by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,512 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,005 shares during the quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $274,871,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,506,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $183,623,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $179.34 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $179.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.54. 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 market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate 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.