Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,260 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 752 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VNOM. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,505,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $172,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,183 shares during the last quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $18,044,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama bought a new position in shares of Viper Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,980,000. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 1,589,404 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,992,000 after purchasing an additional 268,959 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Viper Energy stock opened at $44.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.07. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.46 and a 1-year high of $56.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24. The stock has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 1.69.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. Viper Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on VNOM. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 price target on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Viper Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Viper Energy Company Profile

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.