Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 197 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on HSY. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. 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. Argus cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Trading Down 1.3 %

HSY stock opened at $173.29 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $183.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.51. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $168.16 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Hershey Company 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.