Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Sold by Pictet North America Advisors SA

Pictet North America Advisors SA lowered its position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,714 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 13,215 shares during the quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in Hess were worth $8,874,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hess by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 107,759 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $14,071,000 after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Hess by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Hess by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,358 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hess by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 27,651 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,744,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hess news, CEO John B. Hess sold 92,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.80, for a total value of $13,729,733.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 229,465 shares in the company, valued at $33,914,927. This represents a 28.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Up 0.7 %

Hess stock opened at $145.81 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $140.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.90. Hess Co. has a 52 week low of $123.79 and a 52 week high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 1.17.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. Research analysts forecast that Hess Co. will post 7.69 EPS for the current year.

Hess Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HES has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Pickering Energy Partners upgraded shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.60.

Hess Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.