Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 733 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,320,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $167.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.61 and a 200 day moving average of $174.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.75.

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.