The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven E. Voskuil Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $188.14 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.73. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.8% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18.3% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.7% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

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.