Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,500 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 34.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,600 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $169.06 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.67. The firm has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.