Michele Buck Sells 19,290 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Stock

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $3,375,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,884,200. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Michele Buck also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 30th, Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $4.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $173.00. 733,761 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,793,894. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $165.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.89. The company has a market cap of $35.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.30. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company's revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered their price target on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.9% in the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Hershey by 0.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% 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.