Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $127.01 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 697,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 57,221 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for about 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Hershey worth $127,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 2.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 125,100 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,712,000 after purchasing an additional 144,640 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Hershey by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,947,000 after purchasing an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $210.41 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $213.43 and a 200-day moving average of $194.18. The stock has a market cap of $42.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.14. 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 quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its 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 analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total value of $325,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 59,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,974,210.99. This trade represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.68.

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.