Marshall Wace LLP Has $55.55 Million Stock Position in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Marshall Wace LLP decreased its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 67.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 417,616 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 876,956 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Hess were worth $55,547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HES. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Hess by 1.5% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,098 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Hess during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Hess by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,830 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 20.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,213,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $169,767,000 after purchasing an additional 208,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $23,765,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Stock Up 2.0 %

HES stock opened at $130.56 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.35. Hess Co. has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a net margin of 21.27% and a return on equity of 26.32%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Hess’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised shares of Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Hess from $164.00 to $146.58 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hess from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.26.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,384,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $379,879,364.70. The trade was a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 9.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Hess

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.