Citigroup Inc. Sells 254,261 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Citigroup Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 280,306 shares of the company’s stock after selling 254,261 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.14% of Hershey worth $52,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.6% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth about $242,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs increased its stake in Hershey by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 6,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 77.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 49,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,265,000 after buying an additional 21,678 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 2.1%

HSY opened at $226.38 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.16, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $150.04 and a 12 month high of $234.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $198.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.82.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. 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. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price objective on Hershey and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Argus upgraded Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey 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 value of $329,490.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $910,260 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.