State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 615 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 49,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 33.3% during the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the period. William Allan Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 173.1% in the 1st quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,269,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE HSY opened at $179.52 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $186.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.65. The firm has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 72.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Saturday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $177.67.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.52, for a total transaction of $281,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,654,698.88. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,290 shares of company stock worth $4,307,220. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.