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

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lowered its stake 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 institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth approximately $290,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 59,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,818,000 after purchasing an additional 11,223 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 799 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 27,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,581,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183 shares during the period. Finally, Provident Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the second quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.51, for a total transaction of $282,765.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,819 shares in the company, valued at $10,145,419.69. This trade represents a 2.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stacy Taffet purchased 200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $186.19 per share, with a total value of $37,238.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,786.49. The trade was a 2.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,102,725. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $186.25 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.63. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $199.00. The stock has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 0.18. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. Hershey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays set a $188.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $222.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.95.

Hershey Company Profile

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.