Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 16,167 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC trimmed its Hershey stake by 41.2%, selling 16,167 shares and leaving it with 23,033 shares worth about $4.19 million.
• Insiders have been net sellers (CFO sold 1,500 shares, another exec sold 3,500; 10,000 shares sold in the last 90 days), while Wall Street's consensus is an average "Hold" rating with a $223.83 average target amid several recent price-target cuts.
• Operational highlights: Hershey beat quarterly EPS estimates, set FY2026 guidance of 8.200–8.520 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annual $5.81, ~3.1% yield) despite a high payout ratio (~133.6%).

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC trimmed its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,033 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,167 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $4,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company's stock worth $2,618,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company's stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Hershey by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company's stock worth $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company's stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $267.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $223.83.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $186.74 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $196.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.85 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 133.64%.

Hershey 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.