Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.66% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on HSY. UBS Group raised shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $244.00 to $269.00 in a report on Thursday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Hershey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hershey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $243.71.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $236.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.35. Hershey has a twelve month low of $193.09 and a twelve month high of $242.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $229.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $227.43.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.39, for a total value of $3,140,557.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,555 shares in the company, valued at $33,180,816.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 1,512 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.38, for a total value of $357,406.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,713 shares in the company, valued at $3,241,478.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.39, for a total transaction of $3,140,557.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 150,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,180,816.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,023 shares of company stock worth $9,293,587. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Hershey by 2,693.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,094,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055,559 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 20.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 3,671,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $789,931,000 after acquiring an additional 611,100 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 3.4% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,486,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,193,800,000 after acquiring an additional 473,552 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its holdings in Hershey by 185.9% in the third quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 621,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,115,000 after acquiring an additional 404,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 55.3% in the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 960,944 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,756,000 after acquiring an additional 342,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company's stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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The Hershey Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate, sweets, mints and confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America and International and Other. The North America is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada.

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