Vontobel Holding Ltd. Trims Position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its holdings in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,588 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,028 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in APA were worth $4,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of APA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 77,110 shares of the company's stock worth $1,780,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of APA by 1.6% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 31,272 shares of the company's stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of APA by 1.0% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,367 shares of the company's stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in APA by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in APA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 138,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,070,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the period. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis bought 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now owns 12,436 shares in the company, valued at $283,292.08. This represents a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA traded up $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $23.61. The stock had a trading volume of 6,408,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,488,060. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 3.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.91 and a 200 day moving average of $24.30. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $36.04.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. APA's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

APA has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of APA in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.65.

APA Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.