Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA Grows Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 147,917 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,897 shares during the quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA’s holdings in Hershey were worth $27,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,840,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,126,594,000 after purchasing an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,116,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $849,123,000 after acquiring an additional 125,100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,305,000 after acquiring an additional 126,519 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 4.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,276,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,712,000 after acquiring an additional 144,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Hershey by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,420,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,731,000 after purchasing an additional 29,462 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. This trade represents a 4.36% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet bought 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 9,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. This 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 worth $1,119,450 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE HSY opened at $222.06 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $150.04 and a 12 month high of $234.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $194.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.42. The stock has a market cap of $45.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18.

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 forecast 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 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 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 126.27%.

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.