Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Grows Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 317,461 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,550 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned 0.16% of Hershey worth $53,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Hershey by 123.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded down $4.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $161.13. 1,587,057 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,193,587. The stock has a market cap of $32.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $175.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.94. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $159.87 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Hershey Company 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.