B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 13,149 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 69.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,826 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 13,149 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Hess were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Hess in the fourth quarter worth about $3,117,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,274,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,927 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hess by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,838,079 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $244,483,000 after buying an additional 82,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Hess by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 43,085 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,731,000 after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HES has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.60.

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Hess Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE HES traded up $1.69 on Tuesday, reaching $132.28. The stock had a trading volume of 745,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,055,183. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $148.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.80. The company has a market capitalization of $40.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. On average, analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.