Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 72,453 Shares of Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its stake in Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 73.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,622 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after selling 72,453 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc.'s holdings in ENI were worth $728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in ENI by 336.7% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 78,820 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 60,773 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in ENI by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,368 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $20,092,000 after purchasing an additional 218,391 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in ENI by 1,885.2% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 273,042 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $7,470,000 after purchasing an additional 259,288 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in ENI by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 117,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in ENI by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 88,054 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 11,824 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.18% of the company's stock.

ENI Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE E traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 253,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,181. Eni S.p.A. has a twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $33.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $28.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.89.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.01. ENI had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $25.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.52 billion. Analysts anticipate that Eni S.p.A. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.5391 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This is a positive change from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.35. ENI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

E has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets cut ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.60.

ENI Company Profile

Eni SpA engages in the exploration, production, refining, and sale of oil, gas, electricity, and chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Global Gas and LNG Portfolio, Refining & Marketing and Chemicals, Power & Renewables, and Corporate and Other Activities.