Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $110.74 Million Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 832,582 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 15,005 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.27% of Hess worth $110,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HES. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hess during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Hess by 22.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hess in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HES shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.60.

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Insider Activity at Hess

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Stock Down 9.0 %

Shares of HES traded down $13.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.02. The company had a trading volume of 2,658,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,872,496. The company's 50 day moving average price is $148.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.62. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $41.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

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 net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.