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

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,020 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring 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 SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after purchasing an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 2.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 95.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 218,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,558,000 after purchasing an additional 106,450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $178.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

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.