SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 30,664 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 973.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,815 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,664 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1,774.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 62,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,441,000 after buying an additional 59,513 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 1,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in Hershey by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln Capital LLC now owns 2,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 833.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,940,000 after acquiring an additional 165,458 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,195,945 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management laid out a growth plan at Investor Day to “Lead Next Generation Snacking,” emphasizing expansion into salty and better‑for‑you snack categories, supply‑chain modernization and a financial framework aimed at sustained, differentiated growth. This strategic pivot supports longer‑term revenue diversification beyond core chocolate. Investor Day coverage WSJ analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Hershey is boosting marketing and product activity (e.g., Shaq‑A‑Licious gummy campaigns tied to March Madness), which can lift seasonal sales and brand engagement. These execution moves support the Investor Day growth theme. Shaq promo release
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and analyst commentary highlight Hershey’s push into “better‑for‑you” and functional snacking as a next growth phase — reinforcing the messaging from Investor Day and supporting optimism about category expansion. Seeking Alpha MSN coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading was temporarily halted midday for “news pending” (11:22 AM). Halts can increase intraday volatility; in this case they coincided with Investor Day activity and PR releases. (No article link available for the halt.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Hershey joined a closed beta for a new media‑buying platform (Kargo Project KERA), which may improve ad targeting/efficiency over time but is an initial, experimental step. Kargo beta
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts reacted conservatively: Deutsche Bank cut its price target to $200 and moved to a “hold,” signaling limited near‑term upside from current levels and adding selling pressure. Deutsche Bank note
• Negative Sentiment: Market headlines noted the shares dipped on the session (coverage flagged an intraday decline), reflecting investor caution as the market digests the new strategy and updated outlook versus valuation and near‑term execution risk. Zacks session note

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Hershey from $238.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.32.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $207.97 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $216.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $42.15 billion, a PE ratio of 47.92, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.14. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Hershey’s dividend 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.