Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 5,819 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,059,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Master S Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Master S Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares in the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,000. Cane Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 19,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,580,000 after buying an additional 9,661 shares during the period. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.21.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.71, for a total value of $325,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 59,869 shares in the company, valued at $12,974,210.99. The trade was a 2.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $206.29 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $216.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.14. 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 firm has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48.

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. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.452 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 133.87%.

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.