Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 55.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,187 shares of the company's stock after selling 152,947 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.06% of Hershey worth $21,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:HSY traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $171.70. The stock had a trading volume of 4,188,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,801,409. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.29. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $164.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. Hershey's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.