Cinctive Capital Management LP Makes New $1.05 Million Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 5,607 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. 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. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in Hershey by 4.2% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 21,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,648,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Hershey by 5.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 745,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,773,000 after purchasing an additional 35,578 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 44.9% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $219.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.70. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,901.54. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 outperformance and continuing guidance support: Analysts and sector write-ups highlighted Hershey’s strong Q4 performance within the shelf-stable foods group (revenue and EPS beats and FY26 guidance noted earlier this season), which underpins the bullish sentiment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price-target lift: Morgan Stanley raised Hershey’s price target (reported coverage) and has a more constructive stance, increasing upside expectations — a direct catalyst for buying interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Commodity tailwind for margins: Morgan Stanley’s sector note boosting Mondelez to top pick cites cocoa deflation — the same cocoa-price trend benefits Hershey by easing input-cost pressure and improving margin outlook across the industry. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic portfolio repositioning: Hershey began operating under a unified sweet/salty/protein portfolio structure aimed at clearer go-to-market focus and growth across faster segments — investors view this as supportive for organic growth and cross-selling. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Sustainability / supply-chain collaboration: Hershey joined competitors on the TogetherCocoa initiative, a cooperative effort to address cocoa supply-chain resilience and sustainability — positive for long-term ingredient security and ESG positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational streamlining in the U.S.: Company plans to streamline U.S. businesses (potentially lowering costs), but details on charges, savings and timelines are limited — a watch item for near-term restructuring costs vs. long-term savings. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Defensive dividend narrative: Coverage labeling Hershey a “dividend monster” reinforces its defensive, income-oriented appeal to investors but is unlikely to trigger large re-ratings by itself. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Stephens increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.68.

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.