Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Increases Stake in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) by 56.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 309,983 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,698 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned about 0.08% of APA worth $6,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in APA. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of APA by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in shares of APA by 20.8% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $609,414,000 after purchasing an additional 4,293,932 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in APA by 4.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,991,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,312,000 after buying an additional 485,291 shares in the last quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. grew its position in APA by 3.5% during the third quarter. Smead Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,667,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,466,000 after buying an additional 326,042 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in APA by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,307,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,928,000 after buying an additional 224,547 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at APA

In other news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of APA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on APA. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on APA from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of APA from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of APA from $29.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, APA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.65.

APA Trading Down 4.6 %

NASDAQ APA opened at $21.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 3.16. APA Co. has a 12 month low of $20.32 and a 12 month high of $36.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.83 and a 200-day moving average of $25.12.

APA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. APA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.12%.

About APA

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.