Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Reduces Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas trimmed its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 39.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,276 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,334 shares during the period. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Hershey were worth $16,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.3% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Hershey by 32.9% in the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after purchasing an additional 3,979 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 41,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,959,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $332,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.21.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $234.48 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $204.47 and a 200 day moving average of $191.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $47.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.14.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.