Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $3.69 Million Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 147.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,598 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,887 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Hershey were worth $3,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 129.5% during the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.75. The company had a trading volume of 558,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,801,792. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $33.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.83. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $3,375,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,884,200. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock worth $9,008,118. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Company 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.