Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 235,643 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 537,547 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 235,643 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.17% of Hess worth $71,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after buying an additional 296,406 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Hess by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 11,438,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,521,499,000 after purchasing an additional 698,866 shares during the last quarter. HBK Investments L P lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,237,911 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $962,715,000 after buying an additional 120,091 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $888,240,000 after buying an additional 158,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Hess by 2.4% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 91,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HES. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hess from $151.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target 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. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.16.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $135.70. 1,302,011 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,814,433. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $161.69. The company has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.61. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $140.12 and its 200-day moving average is $141.44.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Hess's payout ratio is currently 27.66%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.