The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Centaurus Financial Inc. lowered its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $349,448,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 18,495.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 270.8% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,478,000 after buying an additional 144,103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $882,405 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $182.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $262.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.22.

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.