The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 40.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,713 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,155 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Hershey were worth $5,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Mizuho reduced their target price on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY traded down $3.06 on Friday, hitting $169.06. 1,834,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,793,369. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $163.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.73. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 67.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.