Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 3,629 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,629 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $14,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, City State Bank raised its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 3.0 %

HSY opened at $178.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.74. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $36.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.