Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 26,878 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 26,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,716,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.

Hershey Trading Up 1.9%

Hershey stock opened at $189.92 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $178.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $195.40. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 79.23%.

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.