Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Virtu Financial LLC

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has significantly reduced its holdings in the Hershey Company by 77%, now owning only 5,745 shares valued at approximately $982,000.
• Insider selling at Hershey includes CFO Steven E. Voskuil selling 5,000 shares for $900,000, indicating a 7.54% decrease in his position.
• Hershey has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, yielding 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 72.78%.

Virtu Financial LLC lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 77.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,745 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,262 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,737 shares of the company's stock worth $5,599,000 after acquiring an additional 5,086 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $279,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 98,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,904,000 after buying an additional 7,602 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 2,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.83.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HSY traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $177.94. 826,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,855,633. The firm has a market cap of $36.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.05. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

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.