First National Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First National Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,608,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.5% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in Hershey by 7.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 165,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,144,000 after acquiring an additional 11,967 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 22.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,943,000 after acquiring an additional 34,725 shares during the period. Finally, Scout Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 75.0% in the first quarter. Scout Investments Inc. now owns 56,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,151,000 after acquiring an additional 24,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of HSY opened at $184.45 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $188.56 and its 200 day moving average is $192.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $171.67 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $37.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.