Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 653 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group cut their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 1.8 %

HSY stock opened at $167.38 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.