RFG Advisory LLC Sells 6,008 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

RFG Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 82.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,257 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,008 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors grew its position in Hershey by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after buying an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company's stock worth $642,139,000 after purchasing an additional 47,394 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock worth $275,710,000 after purchasing an additional 453,428 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company's stock worth $267,396,000 after purchasing an additional 154,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of HSY opened at $161.83 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $163.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.80. The company has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. 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 Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Hershey's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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