Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Has $342,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,020 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 107.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,377,000 after purchasing an additional 9,129 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Hershey by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 45,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,864,000 after purchasing an additional 8,134 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in shares of Hershey by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 2,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $178.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.58. 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 Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.