Willis Investment Counsel Increases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Willis Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 162,666 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,087 shares during the period. Hershey comprises 1.9% of Willis Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel owned approximately 0.08% of Hershey worth $27,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 46,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,910,000 after buying an additional 3,578 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 37.4% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 632 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $367,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its position in Hershey by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,105 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 33,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,757,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $3.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $169.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,834,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,368. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.84.

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.