Strs Ohio Has $9.20 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Strs Ohio lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.3% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $182.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $192.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.