The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Lifted by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 227,715 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,271 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Hershey were worth $43,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after acquiring an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 297.9% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after acquiring an additional 537,419 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $174.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.28. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $168.16 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $35.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 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.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 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.