Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 3,281,273 Shares of APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in APA Corporation by 6.7%, owning 45,339,216 shares after selling 3,281,273 shares during the first quarter, reflecting a position worth approximately $953 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in APA, with notable increases from Bank of Nova Scotia by 38.4% and Synovus Financial Corp by 292.9%, indicating strong institutional interest despite Vanguard's reduction.
• APA Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 5.0% dividend yield, underlining its solid commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its holdings in APA Corporation (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,339,216 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,281,273 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.54% of APA worth $953,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in APA by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,186,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $142,823,000 after buying an additional 1,540,055 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of APA by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,297,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,212 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of APA by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,025,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,947,000 after purchasing an additional 269,865 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of APA by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,166,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,035,000 after purchasing an additional 528,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of APA by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,848,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,681,000 after purchasing an additional 537,943 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of APA in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of APA from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of APA from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of APA from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of APA from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.56.

APA Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:APA traded down $0.07 on Thursday, hitting $20.49. 6,147,391 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,105,128. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a P/E/G ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.23. APA Corporation has a 52 week low of $13.58 and a 52 week high of $29.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company's 50-day moving average price is $19.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.04.

APA (NASDAQ:APA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. APA had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 10.53%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that APA Corporation will post 4.03 earnings per share for the current year.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. APA's payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

About APA

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.