Allianz SE Takes Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Allianz SE bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,159,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 66.7% during 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 during the period. 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 valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after acquiring an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $169.87 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG 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. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.67.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 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, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho cut their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

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.