The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Advisory Alpha LLC

Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,988 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp lifted its position in Hershey by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic grew its position in Hershey by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.00.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $151.18 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $150.31 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $170.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Hershey 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.