Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 3,552 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,552 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted 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 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, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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 report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $189.33.

Hershey Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:HSY traded up $2.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.45. 2,177,434 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,695,203. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $171.67 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.38. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $188.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.10.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 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.