Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $356,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $2.83 on Thursday, hitting $166.78. 3,022,005 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,789,041. The firm has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.19. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.