Allianz SE Takes $1.16 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Allianz SE bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its stake in Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on HSY shares. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

HSY stock opened at $169.87 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $164.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.67. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Hershey 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.