19,699 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Purchased by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Key Points

• Aware Super acquired a new 19,699-share stake in Hershey during the third quarter, valued at approximately $3.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 58% of the stock.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $193.81; several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Hershey beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $2.64 in earnings per share and $3.28 billion in revenue. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, equivalent to a 3.5% yield.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,105,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 125.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 196,337 shares of the company's stock worth $34,447,000 after purchasing an additional 109,418 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $62,664,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth about $274,871,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 11.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company's stock worth $198,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,825 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Weiss Ratings raised Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $201.00 price target (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.81.

Hershey Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $167.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $168.93 and a 200-day moving average of $188.75. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $156.16 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.12% and a net margin of 14.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 65.72%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a global confectionery and snack food manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate producer and has grown into one of the largest branded snack businesses in North America.

Hershey's portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot's Pretzels.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.