Hershey Company (The) $HSY Position Cut by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,741 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1,537.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,901.54. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,153,645. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $225.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.04. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

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.