Dakota Wealth Management Sells 4,790 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Dakota Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,790 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1,537.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’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 directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total transaction of $325,065.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,974,210.99. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Stephens boosted their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.68.

Hershey Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $213.43 on Friday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. 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 company has a market cap of $43.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.18, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $215.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.87%.

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.