Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Acquires Shares of 5,911 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 166.8% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 24,509 shares in the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,064 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 6.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,957,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 9.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,406,000 after buying an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Hershey’s recent quarter beat estimates and management set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.52 EPS, confirming solid top-line growth and margin resilience — a primary driver for investor confidence. MarketBeat earnings & guidance summary
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized $5.81), increasing yield and income appeal for dividend-focused investors. Dividend growth reinforces the defensive, cash-return profile of HSY. MarketBeat dividend notice
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial outlets continue to view Hershey as a high-quality, wide-moat consumer stock — it was featured on a list of five non-tech wide-moat leaders, supporting demand from long-term, defensive investors. Buy 5 Non-Tech Wide Moat Stocks to Enhance Your Portfolio Returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Food & beverage peers reported mixed results (e.g., Monster, Hormel, Smucker beats/metrics). These sector data points help set category expectations but are not company-specific catalysts for HSY. Monster Q4 earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares (avg. $226.07) and another senior insider, Rohit Grover, sold 3,500 shares on Feb. 24. While small relative to total holdings and not unusual following share-price strength, these sales can be perceived negatively by some investors. Insider selling disclosure

Hershey Stock Up 2.1%

HSY opened at $236.34 on Friday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $236.78. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $202.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.24. The stock has a market cap of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.46, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 27.90%. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 133.87%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,153,645. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.21.

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.