4,986 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Bought by Caprock Group LLC

Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,126,594,000 after buying an additional 210,131 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after acquiring an additional 125,100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,305,000 after purchasing an additional 126,519 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Hershey by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,712,000 after purchasing an additional 144,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Hershey by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,420,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,731,000 after purchasing an additional 29,462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 1.9%

Hershey stock opened at $222.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $234.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.41. The company has a market capitalization of $45.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

About Hershey

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.