SL Advisors LLC Sells 120 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

SL Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for 0.5% of SL Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. SL Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY grew its position in Hershey by 0.8% in the third quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 7,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 2.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Hershey by 10.4% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded down $4.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $161.51. 1,339,434 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,137,038. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.94. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $159.87 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $32.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.21.

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.