Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,695,533 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 158,371 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.17% of Hess worth $888,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HES. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Hess by 58.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $509,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Hess by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,930,509 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $389,787,000 after buying an additional 927,093 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter valued at $47,056,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,158,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $4,408,117,000 after acquiring an additional 296,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

Hess Stock Down 9.8 %

HES stock traded down $14.49 on Friday, hitting $133.89. 3,995,195 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,873,512. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.66. 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 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88.

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Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of a number of research reports. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of 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 boosted their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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, Hess has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.60.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value 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 $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.76% of the company's stock.

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.