Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,109 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $4,173,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 21.4% in the third quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 152,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,592,000 after acquiring an additional 27,000 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 17,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,111,000 after purchasing an additional 43,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $186.33 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.81. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.