Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Reduces Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,664 shares of the company’s stock after selling 460 shares during the period. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,052,000 after purchasing an additional 35,393 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,170,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,260,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 997,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,085,000 after purchasing an additional 21,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded up $2.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.92. 3,396,043 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.76. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.