Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 802 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 802 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $183.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.17.

Hershey Stock Down 2.7 %

HSY opened at $178.22 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $179.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $168.16 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.