Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC Invests $369,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 179.4% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Hershey by 2.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in Hershey by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 15,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 53.5% during the third quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 64,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,414,000 after acquiring an additional 22,562 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE HSY opened at $170.92 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 stock has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.79. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $170.58 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Five research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.33.

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.