Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Acquires 100 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,050 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its holdings in Hershey by 9.8% in the third quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 2,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 9,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth $10,647,000. Finally, Mcrae Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded up $2.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $183.76. The company had a trading volume of 181,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,667,867. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.71. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $37.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.11.

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.