The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $278,745.00 in Stock

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HSY stock traded up $1.06 on Wednesday, reaching $188.14. 1,629,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,963,497. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $192.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.75. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. 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 note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.