Hartford Financial Management Inc. Purchases 663 Shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,149 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in APA were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in APA. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in APA by 84.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in APA by 93.5% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of APA by 48.8% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in APA by 355.0% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in APA by 164.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on APA shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on APA from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, APA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.65.

APA Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:APA opened at $22.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a PE ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 3.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.24. APA Co. has a 52-week low of $20.32 and a 52-week high of $36.04.

APA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.12%.

Insider Transactions at APA

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis purchased 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,292.08. This trade represents a 54.58 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

APA Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.