The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Reduced by Central Bank & Trust Co.

Central Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 17.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,292 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,531 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,786,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY traded up $3.75 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $165.50. 355,177 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,781,860. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.80. 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 twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey 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 sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.