177,338 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 177,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,950,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,776,000 after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the last quarter. Intrua Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 4,728.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 80,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,609,000 after acquiring an additional 78,343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $178.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.81.

Hershey Trading Up 3.4%

NYSE HSY opened at $171.24 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $156.16 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $34.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $169.38 and its 200-day moving average is $188.91.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. Hershey had a return on equity of 31.92% and a net margin of 12.24%. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.4520 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.72%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.