Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 98.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 578,705 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $182.20 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $177.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.10. The firm has a market cap of $36.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, August 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.61.

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.