Sound Income Strategies LLC Has $105,000 Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 620 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Hershey by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 46,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,512,000 after purchasing an additional 3,290 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 29.4% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth $1,955,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 60.6% in the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 7,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

HSY stock opened at $150.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.13 and its 200-day moving average is $183.26. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $147.60 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.79.

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.