Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 3,304 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,304 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Choreo LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 13.5% during the third quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its position in Hershey by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $220.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.66 billion, a PE ratio of 50.74, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $234.87.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating 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 report on Thursday, January 29th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total value of $329,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $910,260 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.