Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $2.77 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,425 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 worth $144,743,000 after buying an additional 25,780 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $174.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $168.16 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.01.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 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.