Jones Financial Companies Lllp Has $4.10 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 12.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,821 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 1,537.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total value of $298,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,394,215.73. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,119,450 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $231.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.25 and a beta of 0.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $189.69 and its 200-day moving average is $185.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $234.43.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 81.91%.

Trending Headlines about Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates and management raised FY‑2026 guidance (EPS 8.20–8.52, revenue ~ $12.2–12.3B), giving investors confidence in demand resilience and pricing power. Reuters: Hershey sees strong 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Hershey raised its quarterly dividend by 6% (to $1.452/share), signaling management confidence and attracting income investors ahead of the ex‑dividend date. PR Newswire: Hershey Declares Quarterly Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised price targets after the report — Evercore ISI lifted its target to $250 (in-line rating), and others followed with higher targets, supporting further upside narrative. The Fly: Evercore raises target
• Neutral Sentiment: Market reaction in cocoa futures — cocoa prices rose after Hershey’s upbeat outlook, reflecting eased demand concerns; this can be a mixed signal for margins vs. broader industry health. Barchart: Cocoa prices settle higher
• Neutral Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms reiterated Hold/Equal Weight but nudged up targets (Wells Fargo to $220, BofA to $240, TD Cowen to $210), indicating cautious optimism but not broad conviction to upgrade to Buy. Benzinga: Wells Fargo raises target
• Negative Sentiment: Margins remain under pressure from higher cocoa costs and tariffs; outlets highlighted that profit was dragged by these items even as top‑line and EPS beat. Continued commodity volatility is a downside risk to the earnings recovery. WSJ: Profit dragged by tariffs, cocoa costs
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentary cautioned that cocoa price volatility and cost/tariff risks could limit margin recovery, supporting Hold ratings for risk‑averse investors. TipRanks: Hold ratings due to cocoa volatility

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.