New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 3,967 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Hershey Company by selling 3,967 shares, resulting in a total ownership of 111,424 shares, worth approximately $18.5 million.
• Equities analysts have mixed views on Hershey, with upgrades from firms like Goldman Sachs, raising the price target significantly from $170 to $222, while consensus remains a "Reduce" rating with an average target price of $176.11.
• Hershey reported earnings of $1.21 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, reflecting a 2.9% yield.

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,424 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,967 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.05% of Hershey worth $18,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.9% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 1,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the first quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.9% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $176.11.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.12, for a total value of $283,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 58,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,029,289.28. This represents a 2.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,704 shares of company stock worth $12,206,910. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $187.88 on Friday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $186.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%.The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.809-5.997 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

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.

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