Bridgewater Associates LP Trims Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 74.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,885 shares of the company's stock after selling 111,550 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Hershey were worth $7,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. UBS Group lowered 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. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $176.23. 1,525,169 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,698,233. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.28. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $168.16 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $35.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Hershey's payout ratio is 63.13%.

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.