Millennium Management LLC Sells 119,497 Shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Millennium Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,687 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 119,497 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Viper Energy were worth $3,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VNOM. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $95,505,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,469,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Viper Energy by 20.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,309,425 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $113,324,000 after buying an additional 389,473 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Viper Energy by 164.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 576,637 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $28,296,000 after buying an additional 358,487 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd raised its stake in Viper Energy by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,964,130 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $194,520,000 after buying an additional 310,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VNOM shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Viper Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 target price on Viper Energy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Viper Energy from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Viper Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.38.

Viper Energy Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of VNOM stock traded down $1.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $40.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,541,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,261. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $40.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.87. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.71 and a 52 week high of $56.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a current ratio of 7.24. The company has a market cap of $11.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.05.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.09. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $245.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $233.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Viper Energy, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viper Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Viper Energy's payout ratio is 31.58%.

Viper Energy Profile

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.