Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Acquires 4,903 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,418 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,903 shares during the quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Hershey by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,110,000 after buying an additional 1,454 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $210.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $215.22 and its 200 day moving average is $195.16. 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.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 133.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.68.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total transaction of $325,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,974,210.99. This represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,945 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.