Brookstone Capital Management Sells 2,737 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Brookstone Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,737 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 166.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 24,509 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,276,000 after purchasing an additional 7,064 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Hershey by 6.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,957,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 9.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,406,000 after buying an additional 5,239 shares during the last quarter. 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 firm’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 transaction, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% 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 $2,195,945 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.32.

Key Headlines Impacting Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management laid out a growth plan at Investor Day to “Lead Next Generation Snacking,” emphasizing expansion into salty and better‑for‑you snack categories, supply‑chain modernization and a financial framework aimed at sustained, differentiated growth. This strategic pivot supports longer‑term revenue diversification beyond core chocolate. Investor Day coverage WSJ analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Hershey is boosting marketing and product activity (e.g., Shaq‑A‑Licious gummy campaigns tied to March Madness), which can lift seasonal sales and brand engagement. These execution moves support the Investor Day growth theme. Shaq promo release
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and analyst commentary highlight Hershey’s push into “better‑for‑you” and functional snacking as a next growth phase — reinforcing the messaging from Investor Day and supporting optimism about category expansion. Seeking Alpha MSN coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading was temporarily halted midday for “news pending” (11:22 AM). Halts can increase intraday volatility; in this case they coincided with Investor Day activity and PR releases. (No article link available for the halt.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Hershey joined a closed beta for a new media‑buying platform (Kargo Project KERA), which may improve ad targeting/efficiency over time but is an initial, experimental step. Kargo beta
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts reacted conservatively: Deutsche Bank cut its price target to $200 and moved to a “hold,” signaling limited near‑term upside from current levels and adding selling pressure. Deutsche Bank note
• Negative Sentiment: Market headlines noted the shares dipped on the session (coverage flagged an intraday decline), reflecting investor caution as the market digests the new strategy and updated outlook versus valuation and near‑term execution risk. Zacks session note

Hershey Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:HSY opened at $207.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $216.04 and a 200-day moving average of $195.82. The company has a market cap of $42.15 billion, a PE ratio of 47.92, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.14. Hershey Company has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 133.64%.

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.