38,348 Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 624,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,348 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises approximately 1.5% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Hershey worth $98,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 9.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 11.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,825 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden lifted its position in Hershey by 272.2% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 91,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,001,000 after purchasing an additional 66,699 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $268,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $159.35. 668,791 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,867,289. The company has a 50-day moving average of $176.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.30. The company has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $156.16 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $208.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.78.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a global confectionery and snack food company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate manufacturer and has grown into one of the largest producers of confectionery products in North America.

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, candy, gum, mints, protein bars and salty snacks. Its well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s.