Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4,478.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 586,141 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 573,339 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $106,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in Hershey by 521.1% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 10,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 9,051 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $152,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,332,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,401,000 after purchasing an additional 75,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $172.38 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. Hershey Company has a one year low of $160.07 and a one year high of $239.48. The firm has a market cap of $34.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey 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.