The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,039 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 741 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6 %

Hershey stock opened at $184.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $37.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 4.35 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $188.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.10. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $171.67 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. 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.