Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 48,962 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank boosted its stake in The Hershey Company by 65.4%, acquiring 48,962 shares to hold 123,814 shares valued at about $22.53 million (≈0.06% of the company).
• Analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $224.94 (six Buy ratings vs. seventeen Hold ratings), suggesting limited near‑term upside from current levels.
• Hershey raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized ≈$5.81), producing a ~3.1% yield and reinforcing income investor interest.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 65.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,814 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,962 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.06% of Hershey worth $22,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in Hershey by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC increased its position in Hershey by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in Hershey by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 798 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $267.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seventeen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.94.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.4%

Hershey stock opened at $188.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.51, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.97. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $150.04 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.31. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.452 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.37. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.64%.

Key Hershey News

Here are the key news stories impacting Hershey this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend support — Hershey recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.452 (annualized ~$5.81), producing a ~3.1% yield and underpinning income investor interest in the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sale was executed under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan — CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares (~$291k) on Apr. 20; the trade reduced his stake by ~2.5% but was pre‑planned, which mutes negative signaling. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus broker view is “Hold” — Multiple firms currently rate HSY as a hold, leaving room for only modest upside to the average price target relative to the current price. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan cut its price target (from $230 to $211) and trimmed expectations — this analyst action weighs on sentiment and likely contributed to selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel lowered its target from $230 to $215 and maintains a cautious stance — another notable analyst pullback that tightens upside from current levels. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term market reaction — recent coverage noted HSY closed lower in the latest session (about a mid‑single‑digit percentage move intraday/near session close), reflecting the combined effect of the analyst revisions and insider activity. Read More.

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.

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