Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Buys New Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV acquired a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 54,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,608,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 32.4% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,426,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the period. Finally, Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Barclays cut their target price on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Five 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $178.77 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.05. The company has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $171.67 and a 52-week high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Hershey 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.