Meritage Portfolio Management Has $8.89 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,666 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,430 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 121.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.3 %

Hershey stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $186.66. The company had a trading volume of 653,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,938,739. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.71. 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 Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The stock has a market cap of $38.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.