The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 10.0% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after acquiring an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in Hershey by 179.4% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its position in Hershey by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 15,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 53.5% in the 3rd quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 64,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,414,000 after purchasing an additional 22,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its position in Hershey by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 38,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,331,000 after buying an additional 3,732 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $170.21 on Wednesday. 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 Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $168.16 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $185.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.40.

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 issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.