State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 54,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 408 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $163.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.78 and a 200-day moving average of $178.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.