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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,884,200. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

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

Hershey Trading Down 2.3%

HSY traded down $4.08 on Friday, hitting $173.00. 733,761 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,796,402. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.30. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

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.