Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 370 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 112,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $191.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued 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). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.