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

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

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after acquiring an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Argus cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.78.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.49. 416,477 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,674,429. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.34. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $171.67 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 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.