Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Trims Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. cut its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,037 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. raised its position 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 worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 29,507 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $152.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.31 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 moving average price of $171.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.39.

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 given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 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.