Entropy Technologies LP Takes $1.24 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,237,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after acquiring an additional 29,246 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,608,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in Hershey by 20.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 22,562 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $184.45 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $171.67 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $37.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $188.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.10.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.97%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HSY. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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 research note on Monday, October 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

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.