Insider Selling: Hershey (NYSE:HSY) CFO Sells 1,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• CFO Steven Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock at an average price of $189.12, decreasing his ownership by 2.51% to a total of 58,319 shares.
• Hershey's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $1.21, surpassing expectations of $0.98, with a significant 26.0% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with a yield of 2.9%, and a dividend payout ratio of 72.78%.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total transaction of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 58,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This trade represents a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded up $0.91 on Monday, hitting $191.09. 100,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,777,919. The business's fifty day moving average is $182.59 and its 200 day moving average is $172.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey's 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. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $173.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hershey

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 3.6% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.4% in 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 in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 567 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in Hershey by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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.