Steven E. Voskuil Sells 1,500 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock

The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $191.74 and its 200-day moving average is $190.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Institutional Trading of Hershey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $1,425,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 5,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,194,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $3,932,000. Finally, LifePro Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

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.