The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5 %

Hershey stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $194.65. 663,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,954,143. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.71. The firm has a market cap of $39.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $191.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.78.

Hershey Company Profile

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.