Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,725 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $59,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $169.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.03 and a 200 day moving average of $173.84. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend 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.