Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 25,735 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 426,309 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 25,735 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.14% of Hess worth $58,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HES. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,862 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 1.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 397,926 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $54,038,000 after buying an additional 4,287 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess during the third quarter valued at about $298,000. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of Hess by 107.2% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 86,502 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $11,747,000 after acquiring an additional 44,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,474 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.51% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HES. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.60.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $160.00. The stock had a trading volume of 344,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,985,050. The stock has a market cap of $49.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.46. 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.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders 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 payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Activity at Hess

In related news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total transaction of $27,877,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.