NEOS Investment Management LLC Acquires 3,139 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 15.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,134 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Mizuho dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $173.26 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.52. The stock has a market cap of $34.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year 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.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors 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 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 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.