Cove Private Wealth LLC Takes $261,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cove Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $152.82 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.39. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $150.31 and a 12 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.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $168.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.42.

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.