Dearborn Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 12,574 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,574 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,206,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 company insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE:HSY opened at $180.99 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $179.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.65. The company has a market capitalization of $36.36 billion, a PE ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.11. 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 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 79.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.