APA Corporation $APA Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its APA stake by 39.1%, selling 962,062 shares in the first quarter and retaining 1.50 million shares valued at approximately $63.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.01% of APA.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $40.42; recent analysts adjusted targets between $41 and $50.
• APA shares were recently up 9.0% to $41.02. The company narrowly missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates but declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, equivalent to a 2.4% annual yield.

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its holdings in shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 39.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,497,464 shares of the company's stock after selling 962,062 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.42% of APA worth $63,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in APA. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in APA by 1,726.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,834,502 shares of the company's stock worth $205,176,000 after buying an additional 4,569,779 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in APA by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,171,963 shares of the company's stock valued at $175,426,000 after buying an additional 3,117,032 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in APA by 157.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,060,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,970,000 after buying an additional 1,869,891 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in APA by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,425,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,010,000 after buying an additional 1,864,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in APA by 55.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,154,301 shares of the company's stock worth $176,309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at APA

In related news, VP Mark D. Maddox sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.04, for a total transaction of $392,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 66,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,675,072.40. This trade represents a 12.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on APA shares. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of APA from $43.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on APA from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of APA from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of APA from $57.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of APA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.42.

APA Stock Up 9.0%

Shares of APA opened at $41.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.35. APA Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.77 and a 12-month high of $45.66. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. APA had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 24.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation NASDAQ: APA is an independent exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas resources. The company operates through three core regions: the United States, Egypt and the North Sea. Through its integrated approach, APA combines geological and geophysical expertise with technical innovation to identify and develop hydrocarbons in both onshore and offshore settings.

In the United States, APA's largest position is in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, where it holds substantial acreage dedicated to oil-focused drilling and production.

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