28,955 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Purchased by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 28,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,553,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company's stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company's stock worth $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,962,000 after buying an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 297.9% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup downgraded Hershey from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a "sell" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5 %

HSY stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $174.09. 1,060,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,698,985. 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 Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $168.16 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $183.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.39. The firm has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 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. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. 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.