Physicians Financial Services Inc. Has $2.01 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,466 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.78.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $173.49. The company had a trading volume of 416,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,429. The company has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $171.67 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $189.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.89%.

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.