Merit Financial Group LLC Takes $720,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,860 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $720,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 67,879 shares of the company's stock worth $13,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,957 shares of the company's stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 29,926 shares of the company's stock worth $5,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 353.3% during the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 4,964 shares of the company's stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $1,099,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HSY stock traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $198.11. 2,047,287 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,989,480. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $192.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.85. The company has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HSY. 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 research report 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 report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Edward Jones restated a "hold" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $213.06.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by 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.