Raymond James & Associates Boosts Stock Position in Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 493,470 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,964 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates' holdings in ENI were worth $16,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ENI in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 2,729.7% in the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,047 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ENI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 114.6% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,114 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in ENI by 61.6% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,802 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ENI Trading Up 2.1 %

E stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.50. 309,655 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,907. The business's 50 day moving average price is $31.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.14. Eni S.p.A. has a 52-week low of $26.50 and a 52-week high of $34.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.01.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.16). ENI had a net margin of 5.00% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The firm had revenue of $26.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.86 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eni S.p.A. will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 19th will be given a $0.5186 dividend. This is a boost from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.49. This represents a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 18th. ENI's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

E has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Berenberg Bank cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. StockNews.com cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

About ENI

Eni S.p.A. operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. It engages in exploration, development, extracting, manufacturing, and marketing crude oil and natural gas, oil-based fuels, chemical products, and gas-fired power, as well as energy products from renewable sources. The company operates through Exploration & Production; Global Gas & LNG Portfolio (GGP); Refining & Marketing and Chemicals; Plenitude & Power; and Corporate and Other Activities segments.