Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 1,946,305 Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,946,305 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $95,505,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.91% of Viper Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,855 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,401 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 142,034 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,970,000 after acquiring an additional 46,142 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 632,568 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,040,000 after acquiring an additional 7,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Viper Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 24,400 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.72% of the company’s stock.

Viper Energy Stock Performance

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $41.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a current ratio of 7.24. Viper Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.45 and a fifty-two week high of $56.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $48.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.38. The company has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 1.69.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 6th. This is an increase from Viper Energy’s previous dividend of $0.22. Viper Energy’s payout ratio is presently 32.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VNOM. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Viper Energy from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Viper Energy from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp upgraded Viper Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $58.00 target price (down previously from $64.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.55.

Viper Energy Profile

Viper Energy, Inc engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.