Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 13,960 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 141.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,796 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,960 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $168.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.79.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of HSY opened at $150.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $147.60 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.26.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Hershey’s payout ratio 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.