Jennison Associates LLC Sells 1,064,661 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 79.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,393 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 1,064,661 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Hess worth $39,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,050 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Hess by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 25,520 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,679,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,196 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 896 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $8,330,973.75. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 78,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hess news, COO Gregory P. Hill sold 56,925 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $8,330,973.75. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 78,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,457,302.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 138,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,234,794.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Up 1.4 %

HES traded up $2.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $159.13. 2,334,901 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,576,029. The stock has a market cap of $49.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36 and a beta of 1.27. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $124.27 and a fifty-two week high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $150.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.10.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.4375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 15th. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is 38.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HES shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hess in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a "sell" rating for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.42.

About Hess

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.