Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 232,365 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Ninety One UK Ltd lessened its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,313,657 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 232,365 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Hess were worth $189,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,697,579,000 after buying an additional 889,122 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hess by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,928,530 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,310,590,000 after purchasing an additional 667,979 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 4.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,191,928,000 after purchasing an additional 303,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,728,515 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $756,386,000 after purchasing an additional 93,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hess by 44.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,610,484 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $552,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105,204 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on HES shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Hess from $152.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.75.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hess news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of Hess stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

HES stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $151.42. The company had a trading volume of 402,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,582,602. The company has a market capitalization of $46.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $124.27 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.76.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.89%.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.