Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 161,262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 9,371 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.08% of Viper Energy worth $7,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VNOM. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 701 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,323 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,243,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,396 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Andina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Viper Energy by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 12,924 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 9,543 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $40.89. The stock had a trading volume of 106,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,289,045. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $34.71 and a 52 week high of $56.76. The firm has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53 and a beta of 1.23.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Viper Energy's previous dividend of $0.22. Viper Energy's dividend payout ratio is 32.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 price objective on Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.15.

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.