Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $90,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 27.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $90,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $1,337,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Hershey by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 123,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,620,000 after purchasing an additional 12,832 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,852,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $174.09 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $182.58 and a 200-day moving average of $190.28. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $168.16 and a 1 year high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s 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.