Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its Hershey stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 314,060 shares worth about $57.3 million.
• Hershey reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 versus $2.04 expected and revenue of $3.10 billion, topping estimates and rising 10.7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, payable June 15, implying a 3.1% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 314,060 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,965 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.15% of Hershey worth $57,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Hershey by 339.3% in the third quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 246 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $185.83 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $150.04 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $37.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $207.82 and a 200 day moving average of $196.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Hershey's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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.