Avestar Capital LLC Has $225,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,175 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.8% during the third quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,250,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $5,553,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $1,152,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 86.4% during the third quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 7,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,387,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 11.6% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Up 0.5 %

HSY stock opened at $174.09 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $168.16 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 3.15%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.