Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Hershey Company by 9.4%, owning 264,799 shares valued at $45.29 million after purchasing an additional 22,652 shares in the first quarter.
• CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock on July 30, resulting in a 9.06% decrease in her ownership, while insiders have collectively sold 118,311 shares valued at about $20.93 million over the last quarter.
• Hershey's latest quarterly earnings beat expectations with an EPS of $1.21 and revenue of $2.61 billion, marking a 26.0% increase compared to the same period last year.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 264,799 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,652 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.13% of Hershey worth $45,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 33.3% in the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock worth $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 173.1% in the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,180,000 after buying an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Hershey by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company's stock worth $3,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $184.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $173.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.42. The company has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.68.

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.

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