The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Decreased by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 59.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,895 shares of the company's stock after selling 77,970 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB's holdings in Hershey were worth $8,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 30,461.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $82,123,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during 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 period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Hershey by 1,194.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 249,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,837,000 after buying an additional 230,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $182.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock traded down $3.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.40. The company had a trading volume of 3,027,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,724,911. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $174.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $156.10 and a one year high of $211.92.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was 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.