The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 639 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Hershey by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,139,000 after acquiring an additional 47,394 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Hershey by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,222,000 after acquiring an additional 87,498 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,096,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,743,000 after purchasing an additional 132,019 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.35.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $165.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.30. The stock has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.