Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 651,311 Shares of Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 22.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,581,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 651,311 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.16% of Hess worth $572,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Hess by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,971 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 19,073 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,444 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,111 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hess Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of HES stock traded up $6.84 on Tuesday, hitting $150.16. The stock had a trading volume of 4,487,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,826,514. The business has a 50 day moving average of $136.07 and a 200 day moving average of $140.29. The stock has a market cap of $46.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Hess Corporation has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $161.69.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.95 billion. Hess had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hess Corporation 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, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is 27.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HES. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Hess from $163.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $136.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hess from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Hess from $193.00 to $184.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 250,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $34,002,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,734,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,933,690.79. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.10% of the company's stock.

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.