The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,629 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $14,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 6.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Parthenon LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.3% in the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,649,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE HSY opened at $178.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $36.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $160.47 and its 200 day moving average is $177.74.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

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.