TIAA Trust National Association Buys 86 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,001 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,715,000 after acquiring an additional 112,304 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,006,000 after acquiring an additional 19,018 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $198.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $214.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.26.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

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.