Hendley & Co. Inc. Sells 5,773 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Hendley & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 17.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,603 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,773 shares during the period. Hershey comprises approximately 1.6% of Hendley & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Hendley & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Core Alternative Capital bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Novare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $239,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $186,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $233,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,107 shares of company stock valued at $9,008,118 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Down 4.5%

NYSE HSY traded down $7.59 on Wednesday, hitting $162.34. 3,517,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,870,367. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.30. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.