Insider Selling: The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE HSY traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.14. 1,629,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,963,497. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.75. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 7.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake 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 during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake 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 during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.