Fulton Bank N.A. Boosts Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 341.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,119 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,507 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after buying an additional 124,464 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.4%

Hershey stock opened at $182.09 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $36.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The company’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.61.

Hershey 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.