Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Buys 709 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,366 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 709 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,162,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Fairbanks Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $720,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5,086.9% in the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 21,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,096,000 after acquiring an additional 20,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $875,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $174.81 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $35.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $184.51 and its 200 day moving average is $190.90. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $168.16 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Hershey 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.