Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Purchases 18,515 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,647 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,515 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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 cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1 %

HSY stock opened at $174.81 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $35.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $168.16 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $184.51 and a 200-day moving average of $191.01.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.