Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.96 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,924 shares during the quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY raised its stake in Hershey by 0.8% in the third 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 period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 23.3% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.05.

Hershey Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $152.00 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $147.60 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’s 50-day moving average is $167.44 and its 200-day moving average is $182.29. The company has a market capitalization of $30.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. 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.