Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 68,564 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management boosted its Hershey stake by 24.8%, buying 68,564 shares in Q3 to hold 344,565 shares worth about $64.45 million (≈0.17% of the company).
• Hershey beat quarterly expectations (EPS $1.71 vs. $1.40; revenue $3.09B), raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized $5.81, ~2.6% yield), and set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.52 EPS.
• Insiders have sold 10,000 shares in the past 90 days (including the CFO and an SVP), while institutional investors own ~58% and analysts have an average "Hold" target of about $222.21.

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 24.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 344,565 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 68,564 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.17% of Hershey worth $64,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1,537.5% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 46.3% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares in the company, valued at $11,162,901.54. The trade was a 2.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $226.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.23, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.14. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $206.25 and its 200 day moving average is $191.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus upgraded shares of Hershey to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $222.21.

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.

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