Iowa State Bank Sells 97 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Iowa State Bank cut its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,503,000 after buying an additional 15,497 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $168.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 722,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 822,123. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $175.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $165.78 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $183.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.61.

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.