The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 33.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,222 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,683 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $14,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. 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, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded down $3.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $169.06. 1,834,351 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,795,971. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 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 PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.67.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. The company's revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. 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.