New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 14.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 148,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $28,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Hershey by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 23.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 297.9% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9 %

HSY stock opened at $179.26 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $176.78 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $36.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.61.

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.