The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Trimmed by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,280 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC owned about 0.16% of Hershey worth $53,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.05.

Hershey Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $149.19 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $147.60 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.01. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

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.