Aviva PLC Sells 6,585 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Aviva PLC reduced its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,636 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,585 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.11% of Hess worth $46,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HES. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,274,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,971,000 after acquiring an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $244,483,000 after acquiring an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Hess by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $133.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50 day moving average is $148.37 and its 200-day moving average is $142.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

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.