Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires 13,082 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 22.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 70,240 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,082 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.5% during the first quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 29,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,971,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares in the last quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the first quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,210,000 after purchasing an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,150,000 after purchasing an additional 807,433 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,350,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 76,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,065,000 after buying an additional 5,041 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $187.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.18. The company has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.30. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% 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 was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $3,568,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,820,440. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,021 shares of company stock valued at $17,189,088 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.