Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 24.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 344,565 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 68,564 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $64,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Choreo LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 13.5% in the third quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $226.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.94 billion, a PE ratio of 52.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 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 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $206.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. Hershey’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 133.87%.

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.