Foster Group Inc. Sells 624 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Foster Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 624 shares during the quarter. Foster Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Argus lowered their price target on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.22.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $181.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $194.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.31. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $261.58.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $882,405 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey 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.