Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Sells 3,828 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,828 shares during the quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after acquiring an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 166.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 24,509 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew 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 worth $21,276,000 after purchasing an additional 7,064 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Hershey by 6.4% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 9.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,162,901.54. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $225.13 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.87, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.09 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson set a $243.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.21.

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.