Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $5.25 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company's stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $168.30. 1,475,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,752,420. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.80. The firm has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.67.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other 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 of the company's stock, valued at $396,936. This represents 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.

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.