Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Purchases New Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $163.88 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.56. The company has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.37. 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 quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.