Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 833.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,314 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Hershey were worth $33,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Hershey by 46.3% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 2.4%

HSY opened at $215.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Hershey Company has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.59, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.70.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $3.09 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.520 EPS. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. 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. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 133.87%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,195,945 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Stephens raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Argus raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $243.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.68.

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.