Check Capital Management Inc. CA Grows Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Check Capital Management Inc. CA increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,169 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for approximately 1.2% of Check Capital Management Inc. CA’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Check Capital Management Inc. CA owned approximately 0.09% of Hershey worth $35,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 32.4% during the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,122,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.8% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,695,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659 shares during the period. CORDA Investment Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 6.6% in the third quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,276,000 after acquiring an additional 7,064 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Argus raised shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler set a $213.00 price target on Hershey and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.30.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CEO Kirk Tanner bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, with a total value of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 52,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,394,215.73. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,119,450 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $226.28 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $193.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.15. The company has a market capitalization of $45.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $150.04 and a 1 year high of $234.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. 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. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 126.27%.

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.