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

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,147 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,063 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.12% of Hershey worth $40,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Tyler Stone Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 2,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 22,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,775,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 327,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,434,000 after buying an additional 33,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Florida Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $169.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $164.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.84. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Hershey

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.