Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Pictet North America Advisors SA

Pictet North America Advisors SA lowered its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,714 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 13,215 shares during the period. Pictet North America Advisors SA's holdings in Hess were worth $8,874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HES. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in Hess by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Hess by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 157.2% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 355 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 125,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.08, for a total value of $18,385,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 217,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,047,849.52. This represents a 36.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of Hess stock traded up $1.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $148.04. 1,873,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,981,472. Hess Co. has a 1 year low of $123.79 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $140.42 and a 200-day moving average of $138.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.