8,711 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank grew its position in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on HSY. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE HSY opened at $169.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $164.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.04. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.