Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 365,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,427 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.18% of Hershey worth $70,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 32.4% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,426,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,615,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 354.9% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 5,174 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 35.3% in the first quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.8% in the first quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 1,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $0.15 on Monday, hitting $171.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 40,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,699,101. The company has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $170.58 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $187.31 and its 200-day moving average is $191.78.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.