Rockland Trust Co. Takes $855,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Rockland Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,998 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 now owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $3.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $169.06. 1,834,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,971. The business's 50-day moving average price is $163.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.67. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $34.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Hershey's payout ratio is 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.