New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 37,500 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,156 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.05% of Hershey worth $17,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Hershey by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,997 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,139,000 after acquiring an additional 47,394 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,710,000 after acquiring an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Hershey by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,396,000 after acquiring an additional 154,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Hershey by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,222,000 after acquiring an additional 87,498 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,107 shares of company stock worth $9,008,118. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. 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 research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $171.26. The company had a trading volume of 2,394,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,812,417. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $34.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.30. The company's fifty day moving average is $165.40 and its 200 day moving average is $164.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.07 EPS. Hershey's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.