Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Boosts Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 388,518 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40,353 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned about 0.19% of Hershey worth $70,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 1,537.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 107.4% during the third quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 224 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.21.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $210.72 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $218.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.57. 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 twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.71 billion, a PE ratio of 48.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945. 0.34% 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.