Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 73.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 14,608 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Hess were worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P raised its holdings in Hess by 16.7% during the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $966,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Hess by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Hess in the third quarter valued at about $75,126,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,056,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $159.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $49.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.58.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. 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. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hess has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

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.