Jennison Associates LLC Sells 1,064,661 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 79.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,393 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,064,661 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Hess worth $39,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Hess by 30.7% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 319 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its stake in shares of Hess by 5.4% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,584 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA lifted its holdings in shares of Hess by 2.0% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Hess by 33.7% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 872 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Stock Performance

Shares of HES stock opened at $156.98 on Wednesday. Hess Co. has a 12 month low of $124.27 and a 12 month high of $167.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $150.49 and its 200 day moving average is $147.01.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hess Co. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 15th. Hess’s payout ratio is presently 38.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at $7,257,071.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Andrew P. Slentz sold 1,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $153,480.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 50,215 shares in the company, valued at $7,257,071.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Rielly sold 2,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.52, for a total value of $375,173.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 335,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,443,104. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 155,798 shares of company stock worth $22,811,166 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HES has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Hess from $156.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $172.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Hess from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.42.

Hess Company 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.