The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by WESPAC Advisors LLC

WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,533 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Hershey by 3.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $174.81 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $168.16 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $184.51 and its 200-day moving average is $190.96.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 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.