Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 259 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,124 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Hershey were worth $2,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $195.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.03. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Citigroup downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.21.

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.