The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Independent Wealth Network Inc.

Independent Wealth Network Inc. reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 347 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position 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 worth $112,491,000 after purchasing an additional 139,831 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hershey from $168.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.00.

Hershey Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $151.18 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.31 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

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.