Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 796 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,287 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

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

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Hershey Company 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.