Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $13.71 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,495 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,044 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Hershey were worth $13,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its position in Hershey by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP boosted its position in Hershey by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $197.00 to $192.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.89.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $192.76. The company had a trading volume of 175,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,840,595. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $235.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $190.27 and a 200-day moving average of $192.56.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

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.