Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 39.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,745 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $152.82 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.31 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $171.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.39. The company has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.42.

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.