Colonial Trust Advisors Has $2.34 Million Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Colonial Trust Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 37.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,377 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $2,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.6% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Bellevue Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Hershey by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total value of $329,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $910,260 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $238.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.32.

Hershey Stock Up 1.8%

HSY opened at $230.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.18. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $199.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $189.15. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $234.87.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

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.