Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $2.99 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,250 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after buying an additional 112,304 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 748,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,503,000 after buying an additional 89,586 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $200.83 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $213.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.