Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. decreased its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 44.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,959 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,418 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup reduced 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. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.16.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 99,021 shares of company stock valued at $17,189,088 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $3.64 on Friday, reaching $187.54. 1,943,816 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,819,132. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $167.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $165.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Hershey 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.