Mengis Capital Management Inc. Has $4.33 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,235 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $1.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $186.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,630,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,976,602. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BNP Paribas lowered Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Edward Jones reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244 in the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.