HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,390 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,593 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $18,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth approximately $224,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 71,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,860,000 after buying an additional 2,639 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $219.93 on Friday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $234.87. The firm has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.68, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.34.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $910,260. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 target price on Hershey and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.74.

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.