Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 93.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,561 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,795 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PFS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.4% in the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $194.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50-day moving average is $193.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.80. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. 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 note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $225.48.

About Hershey

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.