Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 894 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lessened its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 894 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in Hershey by 11.6% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 123,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,620,000 after buying an additional 12,832 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $1,852,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 53.5% during the third quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 64,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,414,000 after acquiring an additional 22,562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on HSY shares. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.33.

Hershey Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $174.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $168.16 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.