Colonial Trust Co SC Sells 2,717 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Colonial Trust Co SC trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 28.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,717 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 210,131 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $849,123,000 after purchasing an additional 125,100 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 2.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,567,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,305,000 after purchasing an additional 126,519 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 purchasing an additional 144,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,420,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,731,000 after buying an additional 29,462 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $226.38 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $198.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.82. The firm has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a PE ratio of 52.16, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 and a 1-year high of $234.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,901.54. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $910,260. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. DA Davidson set a $243.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.74.

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.