J2 Capital Management Inc Acquires Shares of 2,053 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 30,461.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd 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 raised its position in Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.42.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $152.82 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.39. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.31 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.