Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Sells 13,473 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,127 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,473 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after acquiring an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic lifted its position in Hershey by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $168.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.79.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $150.54 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $147.60 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $169.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.