Zacks Investment Management Acquires 19,309 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 174,170 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,309 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management owned approximately 0.09% of Hershey worth $33,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. 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 research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five equities 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of HSY opened at $174.80 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $168.16 and a 12-month high of $211.92. 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 company has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $181.00 and its 200 day moving average is $189.22.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Hershey 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.