Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 2,987 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,213 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Choreo LLC grew its position in Hershey by 3.6% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd 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. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Hershey News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hershey’s recent quarter beat estimates and management set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.52 EPS, confirming solid top-line growth and margin resilience — a primary driver for investor confidence. MarketBeat earnings & guidance summary
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized $5.81), increasing yield and income appeal for dividend-focused investors. Dividend growth reinforces the defensive, cash-return profile of HSY. MarketBeat dividend notice
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial outlets continue to view Hershey as a high-quality, wide-moat consumer stock — it was featured on a list of five non-tech wide-moat leaders, supporting demand from long-term, defensive investors. Buy 5 Non-Tech Wide Moat Stocks to Enhance Your Portfolio Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Food & beverage peers reported mixed results (e.g., Monster, Hormel, Smucker beats/metrics). These sector data points help set category expectations but are not company-specific catalysts for HSY. Monster Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares (avg. $226.07) and another senior insider, Rohit Grover, sold 3,500 shares on Feb. 24. While small relative to total holdings and not unusual following share-price strength, these sales can be perceived negatively by some investors. Insider selling disclosure

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $236.34 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.46, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $236.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.31.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.21.

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.