Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Holdings in Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Viper Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,533,589 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 50,778 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.72% of Viper Energy worth $69,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Viper Energy by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,553 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Viper Energy by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,973 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Viper Energy by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 36,800 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 21.2% during the first quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 1,552,974 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $70,117,000 after buying an additional 271,337 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 24.2% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 67,583 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,051,000 after buying an additional 13,187 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. TD Securities increased their price objective on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Viper Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.46.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VNOM traded down $1.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $37.46. 1,591,165 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,418,951. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a PEG ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 8.70, a current ratio of 8.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Viper Energy Inc. has a one year low of $34.71 and a one year high of $56.76. The business's fifty day moving average is $39.79 and its 200-day moving average is $43.10.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.09. Viper Energy had a net margin of 43.43% and a return on equity of 5.41%. The business had revenue of $245.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $233.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Viper Energy Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.58%.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.