Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells $260,145.00 in Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $171.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,287,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,044,615. The stock has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.09. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $188.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

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.