Axa S.A. Sells 45,689 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Axa S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 45,689 shares during the quarter. Axa S.A.'s holdings in Hess were worth $3,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth $2,274,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $244,483,000 after buying an additional 82,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Hess by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,731,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HES. Scotiabank cut their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock opened at $129.05 on Thursday. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $161.69. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $140.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.52. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.61.

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

Hess Announces Dividend

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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess's payout ratio is presently 27.66%.

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.

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