28,887 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Bought by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 28,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,403,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 166.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 24,509 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,276,000 after acquiring an additional 7,064 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,573 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Key Hershey News

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.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 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 transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total value of $329,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,153,645 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.68.

Hershey Trading Up 1.3%

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

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

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.