Optiver Holding B.V. Buys 259,288 Shares of Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E)

Optiver Holding B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 1,885.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,042 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after buying an additional 259,288 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V.'s holdings in ENI were worth $7,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of ENI by 9.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,744 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 3,641 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in ENI by 277.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,974 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 22,768 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in ENI in the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ENI in the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of ENI by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 23,445 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

E has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.60 price objective (down from $37.50) on shares of ENI in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group cut shares of ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ENI presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.60.

ENI Stock Down 1.5 %

ENI stock traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 408,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,025. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $28.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.83. Eni S.p.A. has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $33.12. The company has a market capitalization of $47.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.27.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. ENI had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $25.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.52 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Eni S.p.A. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.5391 dividend. This represents a yield of 5.5%. This is an increase from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. ENI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.82%.

About ENI

Eni SpA engages in the exploration, production, refining, and sale of oil, gas, electricity, and chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Global Gas and LNG Portfolio, Refining & Marketing and Chemicals, Power & Renewables, and Corporate and Other Activities.