NewEdge Wealth LLC Makes New $1.50 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,495,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter valued at $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $186.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $178.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.50. The company has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average 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.