Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Newly Purchased by M Holdings Securities Inc.

M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.6% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 102,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,127,000 after acquiring an additional 3,538 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 0.8% in the third quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 49,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,728,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 0.4% in the third quarter. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC now owns 20,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Asset One Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth $252,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $173.81 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $156.16 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.27 and a 200-day moving average of $188.21.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $1.4520 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price target (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.81.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.