Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Purchases 156 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,109 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 11.2% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 646 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in Hershey by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $186.33 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The stock has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $192.16 and a 200-day moving average of $190.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.