Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $434,000 Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,237,000. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 311.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 4,925 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $251,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $63,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $178.77 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $171.67 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $188.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.