Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Acquires 4,354 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1,544.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,636 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $813,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Hershey by 546.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,439,000 after acquiring an additional 893,940 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 315.4% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,285,000 after acquiring an additional 822,772 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 150.1% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,731,000 after acquiring an additional 767,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4,478.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 586,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,666,000 after acquiring an additional 573,339 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $185.97 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. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $37.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $177.65 and its 200-day moving average is $195.79.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%.Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.61.

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.