Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $1.73 Million Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 34.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,424 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,391 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total value of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,145,419.69. The trade was a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $195.00 to $211.00 in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $181.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.95.

Hershey Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $186.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.26 and a 200-day moving average of $180.63. The stock has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 0.18. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $199.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.24. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.91%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.