California State Teachers Retirement System Has $45.92 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,136 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,073 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.13% of Hershey worth $45,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:HSY traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $160.65. The stock had a trading volume of 2,073,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,784,156. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $32.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $163.95 and its 200 day moving average is $166.15. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

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.