Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Stock Holdings Boosted by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,759 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Hess were worth $14,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. HBK Investments L P boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 16.7% in the third quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 7,117,820 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $966,600,000 after buying an additional 1,017,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,537,162 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $884,709,000 after buying an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,753,126 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $509,675,000 after buying an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Hess by 31.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,318,822 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $450,696,000 after purchasing an additional 785,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hess by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,755,376 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $238,380,000 after purchasing an additional 43,061 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total transaction of $13,729,733.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted 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. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Friday, February 14th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HES traded up $1.92 during trading on Thursday, hitting $151.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,023,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,953,813. 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 fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $140.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.92. The company has a market capitalization of $46.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. Hess's payout ratio 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.