The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 91.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 959 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lifted its stake in Hershey by 0.8% during the third quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 7,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.7% during the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% during the second quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5 %

Hershey stock opened at $174.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.38. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $183.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.39. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $168.16 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Hershey Company 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.