MML Investors Services LLC Purchases Shares of 8,769 APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA)

MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of APA Co. (NASDAQ:APA) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 8,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in APA. Harris Associates L P raised its position in APA by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 24,914,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $609,414,000 after buying an additional 4,293,932 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of APA by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 30,471,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,411,270 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of APA by 131.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,813,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,704,000 after purchasing an additional 2,736,041 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of APA by 3,450.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 985,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,115,000 after purchasing an additional 958,141 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in APA by 112.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,092,000 after buying an additional 767,557 shares in the last quarter. 83.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on APA. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on shares of APA from $30.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of APA from $25.00 to $24.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of APA from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on APA from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on APA from $36.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juliet S. Ellis acquired 4,391 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.78 per share, with a total value of $100,026.98. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $283,292.08. The trade was a 54.58 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

APA Price Performance

Shares of APA opened at $21.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 3.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.10. APA Co. has a twelve month low of $20.32 and a twelve month high of $37.82.

APA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. APA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.12%.

APA Company Profile

APA Corporation, an independent energy company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. It has oil and gas operations in the United States, Egypt, and North Sea. The company also has exploration and appraisal activities in Suriname, as well as holds interests in projects located in Uruguay and internationally.