Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Purchases Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) recently bought shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY). In a filing disclosed on December 01st, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Hershey stock on November 21st.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) on 11/21/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of CocaCola (NYSE:KO) on 11/21/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) on 10/27/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 10/20/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) on 9/4/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) on 9/4/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) on 9/4/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Honeywell International (NASDAQ:HON) on 9/4/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 9/4/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) on 9/4/2025.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $180.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $36.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02 and a beta of 0.19. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $182.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI restated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays set a $188.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.74.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.6% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Bellevue Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of Hershey by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,103,640. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Senator Whitehouse

Sheldon Whitehouse (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Rhode Island. He assumed office on January 3, 2007. His current term ends on January 3, 2031.

Whitehouse (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Rhode Island. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.