Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 9,364 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,336 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 9,364 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Hess were worth $14,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HES has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Hess stock opened at $161.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $148.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.46.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess 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.