Mariner LLC Buys 1,060 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,797 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $3,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 296,406 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hess by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $888,240,000 after acquiring an additional 158,371 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,844,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $511,325,000 after acquiring an additional 91,131 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Hess by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,498,458 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $465,330,000 after purchasing an additional 179,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Hess by 46.3% in the fourth 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. 88.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.26.

Hess Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of HES opened at $126.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.21. Hess Co. has a twelve month low of $123.79 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

About Hess

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.