Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,100 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 42.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 1,537.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.68.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $210.26 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $215.22 and its 200 day moving average is $195.16. Hershey Company has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $42.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14. 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 results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during 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 revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. 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 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 133.87%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.