The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,874 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Hershey by 10.0% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after acquiring an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 179.4% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,608,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 53.5% in the third quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 64,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,414,000 after buying an additional 22,562 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $187.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.96. 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 52 week low of $170.58 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.