Moran Wealth Management LLC Acquires 979 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 88,464 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $16,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Hershey by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 123,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,620,000 after acquiring an additional 12,832 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 53.5% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HSY traded up $1.35 on Wednesday, reaching $171.59. The stock had a trading volume of 187,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,699,153. 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 $34.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.40.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 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.