Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 38,478 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,478 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance raised its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,173,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 94.7% during the fourth quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 17,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,111,000 after purchasing an additional 43,836 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,603,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $187.10 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.75. The company has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

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.