Evolve Private Wealth LLC Invests $726,000 in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 4,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $6,825,000. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $786,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth about $508,000. Korea Investment CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth about $19,342,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,660,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.9%

Hershey stock opened at $189.92 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $178.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

Insider Activity 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 value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 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.