Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 520,227 Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 520,227 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock, valued at approximately $14,233,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of ENI by 248.5% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,479 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 26,013 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of ENI by 7.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,144 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of ENI by 9.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,744 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 3,641 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of ENI by 277.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,974 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 22,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ENI during the 4th quarter valued at about $216,000. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ENI Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE E opened at $27.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Eni S.p.A. has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $33.30.

ENI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.5391 per share. This is a positive change from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 5.5%. ENI's payout ratio is presently 87.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.60 price target (down from $37.50) on shares of ENI in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ENI has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.60.

About ENI

Eni SpA engages in the exploration, production, refining, and sale of oil, gas, electricity, and chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Global Gas and LNG Portfolio, Refining & Marketing and Chemicals, Power & Renewables, and Corporate and Other Activities.

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