Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $1.95 Million in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,950,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of HSY opened at $158.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $209.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.84.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.