Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 651 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,879 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Hershey by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after acquiring an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $170.92 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $187.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.96. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $170.58 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $34.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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