Hennessy Advisors Inc. Has $2.22 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,130,000 after purchasing an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Hershey from $168.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $183.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $152.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $150.31 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s 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.