Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 183,067 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,914,945 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 183,067 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 2.57% of Hess worth $1,074,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 1.6% in the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,599 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 7.3% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Hess by 16.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 540 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Hess by 4.7% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,771 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HES shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $173.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Hess from $157.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hess presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.30.

Insider Activity at Hess

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

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $147.47 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $137.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $45.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 1.15. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.26. Hess had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 27.41%. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is an increase from Hess's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Hess's dividend payout ratio is 23.31%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HES? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.