Insider Selling: 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 Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.64. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $349,448,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 18,495.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,182,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,683,000 after purchasing an additional 271,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verity & Verity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $37,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.