Wealthfront Advisers LLC Invests $9.57 Million in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 54,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,566,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,303,889,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 546.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,439,000 after purchasing an additional 893,940 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 315.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,285,000 after purchasing an additional 822,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,731,000 after purchasing an additional 767,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.61.

Hershey Stock Up 3.0%

Hershey stock opened at $189.04 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $178.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.61. 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 twelve month low of $161.43 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

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.