Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) by 324.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 700 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hess were worth $95,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hess by 0.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,126,526 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,903,793,000 after acquiring an additional 294,146 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Hess by 4.4% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 8,098,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,194,619,000 after purchasing an additional 340,490 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Hess by 34.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,835,486 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $418,291,000 after buying an additional 726,631 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Hess by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,451,807 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $361,691,000 after buying an additional 150,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hess by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,798,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $265,359,000 after acquiring an additional 181,459 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geurt G. Schoonman sold 6,000 shares of Hess stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.91, for a total transaction of $851,460.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 27,581 shares in the company, valued at $3,914,019.71. This trade represents a 17.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John B. Hess sold 90,476 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.47, for a total transaction of $12,890,115.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 223,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,791,753.09. This trade represents a 28.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HES. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $149.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Hess from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hess from $192.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Hess from $210.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hess from $171.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.30.

Hess Stock Performance

NYSE:HES opened at $145.10 on Friday. Hess Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.79 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $136.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.18. The company has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hess had a return on equity of 27.41% and a net margin of 20.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hess Co. will post 9.76 EPS for the current year.

Hess Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Hess’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Hess’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.31%.

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.