Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 5,720 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,673 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,720 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1,537.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total value of $298,005.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,394,215.73. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet acquired 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley set a $238.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $228.95 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $234.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.64%.

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.