Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. Has $219,000 Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,293 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 48.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,864,000 after acquiring an additional 26,318 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $460,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Hershey by 64.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 59.8% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 28,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,258,000 after buying an additional 10,706 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its position in Hershey by 7.6% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 46,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,512,000 after acquiring an additional 3,290 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

HSY stock opened at $150.54 on Friday. 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. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $147.60 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.54 and its 200-day moving average is $183.49.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. 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, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.79.

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.