Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,174 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in 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 period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1 %

HSY opened at $170.21 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.40. 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 Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $168.16 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research 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 objective on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Five 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 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.