Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stock Holdings Trimmed by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 277,703 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,552 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $51,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 10.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 100,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,779,000 after purchasing an additional 9,593 shares during the period. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $208,000. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Hershey by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 109,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,092,000 after buying an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 147,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,897 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $339,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $238.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $222.06 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a PE ratio of 51.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.66. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $186.19 per share, for a total transaction of $37,238.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey 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.