Insight Wealth Strategies LLC Buys 3,841 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 24,545 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,841 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on HSY shares. UBS Group lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.61.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded down $1.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $167.49. 894,932 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,003. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $175.74 and its 200 day moving average is $186.16. The company has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $165.78 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.