Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,094,960 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 239,404 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.74% of Viper Energy worth $495,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Viper Energy by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,833,257 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $172,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,183 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $95,505,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 16.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,698,661 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $76,647,000 after buying an additional 234,048 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 1,589,404 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $77,992,000 after buying an additional 268,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its position in Viper Energy by 22.9% during the third quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 860,600 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $38,822,000 after acquiring an additional 160,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VNOM. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Viper Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Viper Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.77.

Viper Energy Trading Down 9.4 %

VNOM stock traded down $3.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $37.64. 2,515,137 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,252,015. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.46 and a 12-month high of $56.76. The company has a quick ratio of 7.24, a current ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 1.23.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Viper Energy's previous dividend of $0.22. Viper Energy's payout ratio is currently 32.70%.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.