Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys 10,500 Shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 39,700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Hess were worth $5,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hess in the 3rd quarter worth $298,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Hess in the third quarter worth about $294,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Hess by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,648 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Hess by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 121,162 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $16,454,000 after purchasing an additional 12,020 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Hess by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,674 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 6,653 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Hess Trading Down 9.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HES opened at $133.89 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $148.37 and its 200 day moving average is $142.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.13. 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 $41.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.88.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Hess

In other news, CEO John B. Hess sold 175,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.30, for a total value of $27,877,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,384,679 shares in the company, valued at $379,879,364.70. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HES. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hess presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.60.

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.