Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Reduces Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 16.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 27,151 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hess were worth $18,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Hess by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,787,000 after purchasing an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,056,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,158,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,408,117,000 after acquiring an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $31,225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $127.80 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $146.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.59. 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 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HES. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.56.

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.