Grimes & Company Inc. Has $12.72 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Grimes & Company Inc. lowered its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 17.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,123 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $150.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $30.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $147.60 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.26.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.79.

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.