Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,320 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,538 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Hershey were worth $16,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $173.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $168.19 and a 200-day moving average of $188.05. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.16 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $1.4520 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Deutsche Bank set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Hershey from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.81.

Hershey 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.