Truist Financial Corp Purchases 11,600 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 16.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,099 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,600 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $15,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.6% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in Hershey by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 46.3% during the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 5.1% in the second quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,786.49. This trade represents a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total transaction of $298,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 52,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,394,215.73. The trade was a 2.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,119,450 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Hershey

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added HSY to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list and to its income-stock recommendations — a formal upgrade that can attract investor flows and income-focused buyers. New Strong Buy Stocks for January 30th Best Income Stocks to Buy for January 30th
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and previews expect Hershey to beat Q4 estimates based on solid demand, pricing power and brand strength — earnings beats typically drive short-term stock gains. Hershey Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates Q4 Earnings on Deck: What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Product innovation: Jolly Rancher launched a new spicy gummy collaboration (VeeFriends), which can boost seasonal demand and brand buzz — a tangible growth catalyst for confection sales. Hot Take: Jolly Rancher Just Made Gummies Spicy
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and earnings optimism article highlights both potential upside from continued margin improvement and the stock’s premium multiple — useful context but mixed impact short term. A Look At Hershey Valuation As Earnings Optimism And New Jolly Rancher Gummies Draw Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage note: HSY traded up while broader market dipped — shows defensive demand but not a definitive directional signal. Hershey Rises As Market Takes a Dip
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch flags that HSY still underperformed key competitors on a relative basis despite daily gains — relative weakness could limit further multiple expansion until comps show similar strength. Hershey Co. stock underperforms Friday when compared to competitors despite daily gains

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.79.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $194.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $201.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $187.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.57.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a return on equity of 32.08% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

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.