Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Raises Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lifted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,725 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $1.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $179.57. The stock had a trading volume of 359,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,966. The stock has a market cap of $36.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $171.67 and a one year high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $188.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.