Intellectus Partners LLC Buys 3,399 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 138.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,862 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 15.1% in the second quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 189.2% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 12.3% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $476,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE HSY opened at $225.13 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $207.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.66, for a total transaction of $329,490.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,901.54. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.21.

Hershey Company 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.