NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $2.56 Million Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 50.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,699 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,584 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1,537.5% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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, 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 owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $910,260. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price objective on Hershey and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.74.

Hershey Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $219.93 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $150.04 and a 1 year high of $234.87. The firm has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 50.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for 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%. The company’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 firm posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

About Hershey

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.