Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 623,902 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 45,567 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of Hess worth $82,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,117,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 76,512 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,176,000 after buying an additional 36,443 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hess by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,806 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 6,542 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of Hess by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 300,267 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,939,000 after acquiring an additional 37,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth $1,513,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Hess stock opened at $142.99 on Monday. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $123.79 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $44.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.96.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

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.