Natixis Advisors LLC Has $17.75 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,573 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,703 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Hershey by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 7,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $170.21 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $168.16 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.40. The firm has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 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.