Sanctuary Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,252 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,773 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company's stock worth $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $177.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.37. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $179.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.06.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a "sell" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.17.

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.