Ascent Group LLC Buys New Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Hershey by 80.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.1% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 18.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,920,000 after buying an additional 1,630 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,841,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after buying an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $179.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.40. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $168.16 and a one 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.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend 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.