ING Groep NV Has $72.42 Million Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 267.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 533,264 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 388,273 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.17% of Hess worth $72,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HES. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in Hess by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 11,858 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 2,060 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Hess by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 326,465 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,832,000 after buying an additional 53,636 shares during the period. Chicago Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $763,000. Forge First Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $17,321,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in Hess in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,731,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hess

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 27,581 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,914,019.71. This represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total value of $12,890,115.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 223,147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hess Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of HES stock traded up $2.30 on Thursday, reaching $145.10. 1,436,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,106,602. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $136.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.18. The stock has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Hess Co. has a one year low of $123.79 and a one year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wolfe Research raised Hess from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess 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.