Krilogy Financial LLC Buys New Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Krilogy Financial LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.0% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in Hershey by 11.1% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Hershey by 4.8% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,695,000 after buying an additional 2,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 82,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,626,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at $8,876,115.60. This represents a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,119,450 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of HSY opened at $222.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.17, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.42. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $234.87.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 126.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on HSY. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.30.

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.