Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 9,621 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 168,030 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,621 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $32,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $179.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $190.41 and a 200-day moving average of $192.49. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $176.78 and a one year high of $211.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.61.

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.