Insider Selling: The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $274,395.00 in Stock

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $183.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 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 $258.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $194.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.22. The company has a market cap of $37.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 997,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,085,000 after purchasing an additional 21,229 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after purchasing an additional 112,304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Argus decreased their target price on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.67.

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.