Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 95.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 218,055 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 106,450 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $40,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Lantz Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,841,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 28.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 813 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 47.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 107,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,846,000 after acquiring an additional 34,541 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 24,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $177.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $168.16 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.06.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.17.

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.