M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in shares of Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,733 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 9,542 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Viper Energy were worth $2,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 328.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 587 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 321.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 679 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 43.9% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 524.8% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares during the period. 87.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of 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 set a $58.00 target price (down from $64.00) on shares of Viper Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viper Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.55.

Viper Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Viper Energy stock opened at $41.36 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.40. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 1.69. Viper Energy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.45 and a fifty-two week high of $56.76. 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 Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend payout ratio is 32.70%.

About Viper Energy

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.