The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Trimmed by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $157.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.49 and a 200 day moving average of $179.24. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.