Advisors Asset Management Inc. Acquires 2,937 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,022 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $167.67 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.37. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

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.