Financial Counselors Inc. Has $1.25 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 71.9% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded 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. Finally, Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $176.23 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $168.16 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $182.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $35.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.