Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc lowered its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 86.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,050 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total transaction of $325,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,974,210.99. This represents a 2.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,945. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $213.43 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $150.04 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.26 billion, a PE ratio of 49.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.14. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.64%.

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.