Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Raises Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,101 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 179.4% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in shares of Hershey by 20.1% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 15,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 64,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,414,000 after purchasing an additional 22,562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $170.92 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $170.58 and a 1 year high of $211.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.81.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.33.

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.