Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Has $708,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,183 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.79.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $150.54 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $147.60 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.26. The company has a market cap of $30.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. Hershey’s 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.