Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 14,738 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 8.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 182,228 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,738 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Hershey worth $31,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northstar Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 4.7% in the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 2,232 shares of the company's stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $427,000. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Crane Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 12.3% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 696 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY traded up $1.98 on Friday, hitting $171.70. The stock had a trading volume of 4,188,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,801,409. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.29. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $164.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 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.