Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 426,309 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,735 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hess were worth $58,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HES. Korea Investment CORP boosted its holdings in Hess by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 290,180 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $38,597,000 after purchasing an additional 65,007 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of Hess by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 293 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hess by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after buying an additional 296,406 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Hess by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 33,976 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,519,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter worth about $42,158,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $158.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.79.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on HES. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Company Profile

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.