Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $12.58 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,276 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,369 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Hershey were worth $12,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 46,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the period. Court Place Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Finally, Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of HSY stock traded down $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $160.65. 2,073,023 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,784,156. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $163.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.15. The stock has a market cap of $32.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.84.

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.