Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Has $3.54 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,876 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 increased its holdings in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after purchasing an additional 139,831 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reduced their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 1.7 %

HSY stock opened at $154.98 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.