Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 2,987 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,213 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,987 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 1,537.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 131 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Hershey

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 Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $236.34 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.14. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $236.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.31.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 27.90% and a net margin of 7.55%.The business had revenue of $3.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The firm’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. Analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,162,901.54. This represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,153,645 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $182.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $188.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.21.

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.