Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Has $739,000 Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,856 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Down 4.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.92 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.38. 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 Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $170.58 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.78.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.