Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $939,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,546 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its holdings in 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 worth $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.4% during 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. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 3,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $168.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.30. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.