W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co Decreases Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lowered its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,976 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,891 shares during the quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,947,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Hershey by 6.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after buying an additional 101,305 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,605,000 after buying an additional 52,936 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.83.

Hershey News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings and revenue beat consensus — Hershey reported $2.35 EPS vs. $2.05 expected and $3.10B in revenue vs. $3.02B expected; margins and ROE remain healthy, which supports near-term earnings momentum. Hershey Q1 Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase/confirmation — the board declared quarterly dividends of $1.452 (Common) and $1.320 (Class B), reinforcing the shareholder-return story that often supports the stock. Hershey Declares Quarterly Dividends
• Positive Sentiment: Company reaffirmed full-year 2026 sales and earnings outlook — management kept its guidance intact, reducing uncertainty about the remainder of the year. Hershey Reports First-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Profit boost driven by pricing — press coverage notes profit rose as price hikes offset volume declines; this supports near-term revenue but is mixed for longer-term consumption trends. Hershey Profit Jumps as Price Hikes Boost Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst previews flagged “solid” consumption trends into Q1 — supportive context for the beat but not a clear catalyst for sustained upside. Hershey’s First-Quarter Results Likely to be Strong
• Negative Sentiment: Unit volumes declined — management and press note falling sales volume even as pricing lifted revenue; weaker volumes can limit long-term top-line growth and invite margin pressure if pricing power fades. Hershey Profit Jumps as Price Hikes Boost Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Rich valuation — HSY trades at a high P/E (~43.5), which may limit upside if future growth disappoints or macro headwinds re-emerge. No external link

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $188.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $210.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.76. The company has a market capitalization of $38.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.30. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

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.