Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 917,852 shares of the company's stock after selling 71,797 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.46% of Hershey worth $161,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $179.34 on Friday. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.43 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $179.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company 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 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $204.78.

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.

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