Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its holdings in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,531 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 1,925 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Hess were worth $17,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hess by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,141,244 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,408,117,000 after buying an additional 296,406 shares during the period. HBK Investments L P grew its position in shares of Hess by 16.7% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 1,017,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 74,085 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Hess by 58.9% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,391,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Hess by 46.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 927,093 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on HES shares. StockNews.com began coverage on Hess in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hess Price Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded down $1.52 on Wednesday, hitting $159.78. 252,887 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,853,541. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $148.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.21. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.