T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,309,425 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 389,473 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.08% of Viper Energy worth $113,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new position in Viper Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $416,000. Massar Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,833,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 16,704 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 5,154 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 217.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,535 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 4,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Viper Energy by 137.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,831 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 3,949 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho started coverage on Viper Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $56.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Viper Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Viper Energy from $62.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. StockNews.com raised Viper Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Viper Energy from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.15.

Viper Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Viper Energy stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $42.12. The company had a trading volume of 624,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,292,218. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a current ratio of 7.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $42.60 and a 200 day moving average of $48.01. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.71 and a 52-week high of $56.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 1.23.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

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

Viper Energy Company Profile

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.