New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 139,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Hershey worth $23,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Callahan Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 5,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 2,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 27,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after buying an additional 4,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 4.2 %

HSY opened at $173.03 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.37. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% 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.