Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases 206 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after acquiring an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Hershey by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake 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 worth $2,986,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 22,562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $178.77 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average price of $188.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.05. The company has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $171.67 and a 12 month high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

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.