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

Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,022 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,937 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $1,939,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.75.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $167.67 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $162.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.37. The firm has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G 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.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

About Hershey

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.