12,891 Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Acquired by Woodstock Corp

Key Points

• Woodstock Corp increased its Hershey stake by 45.3% in the third quarter, acquiring 12,891 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 41,317 shares valued at approximately $6.5 million.
• Hershey reported quarterly earnings of $1.90 per share on $2.79 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 6.6% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $8.36–$8.52.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on HSY, with an average price target of $203.67 versus the stock’s reported price of $163.60. Hershey also pays an annualized dividend of $5.81 per share, yielding about 3.6%.

Woodstock Corp increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,317 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,891 shares during the quarter. Woodstock Corp's holdings in Hershey were worth $6,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 14.5% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 494,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,936,000 after acquiring an additional 62,730 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.1% in the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 4,871 shares of the company's stock worth $768,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $445,000. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 30,547 shares of the company's stock worth $4,814,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 526 shares of the company's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $225.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $203.67.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE HSY opened at $163.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.29. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $156.16 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $32.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.10.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 79.23%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a global confectionery and snack food company headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate manufacturer and has grown into one of the largest producers of confectionery products in North America.

Hershey's portfolio includes chocolate, candy, gum, mints, protein bars and salty snacks. Its well-known brands include Hershey's, Reese's, Kisses, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot's.

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