Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,570 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,427 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Hershey worth $70,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 18,584 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,615,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Hershey by 354.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 5,174 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its position 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 buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $169.99. 1,640,955 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,706,276. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $187.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.78. The firm has a market cap of $34.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $169.10 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Hershey's payout ratio is 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.