Insider Selling: Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $255,000.00 in Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total transaction of $255,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.75. 557,905 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,019,165. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.91. The firm has a market cap of $36.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $208.28.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HSY. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.