Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $90,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $90,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after acquiring an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in Hershey by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 123,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,620,000 after purchasing an additional 12,832 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,852,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,464 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $174.09 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $168.16 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.58 and a 200-day moving average of $190.28. The stock has a market cap of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend 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.