California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 23,688 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 451,065 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 23,688 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.15% of Hess worth $59,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research note on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.60.

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Insider Transactions at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hess Price Performance

NYSE HES traded down $14.49 on Friday, hitting $133.89. The stock had a trading volume of 3,995,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,877,210. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.58 and a 200-day moving average of $142.62. The company has a market capitalization of $41.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $123.79 and a 52-week high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. Equities analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.