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

Strs Ohio reduced its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Hershey by 3.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,665,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 28.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,045,383,000 after acquiring an additional 216,715 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

HSY stock opened at $182.45 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $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 stock has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

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.