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

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 23.7%, now holding 269,936 shares valued at approximately $46.2 million.
• Analysts have cut target prices for Hershey’s stock, with Citigroup lowering theirs from $173 to $165, while maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Hershey reported earnings of $2.09 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, but showed a 13.8% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 23.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 269,936 shares of the company's stock after selling 83,909 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.13% of Hershey worth $46,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 99,021 shares of company stock worth $17,189,088 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:HSY traded up $2.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.79. The company had a trading volume of 3,008,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,876,222. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $168.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.52. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Mizuho increased their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. DA Davidson raised their target price on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.74.

Hershey 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.