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

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

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance increased its position in Hershey by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $4,173,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in Hershey by 94.7% in 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 last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Hershey by 91.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $1,603,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $187.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.75. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.