Meritage Portfolio Management Acquires 3,430 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,666 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,430 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $186.66. 653,051 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,938,739. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The company has a market cap of $38.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

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.