Physicians Financial Services Inc. Increases Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Physicians Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,668 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Physicians Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parthenon LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.3% in the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,649,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $166.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.