Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Viper Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VNOM) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,543,209 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 189,672 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 1.19% of Viper Energy worth $124,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Viper Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,094,960 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $495,360,000 after acquiring an additional 239,404 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of Viper Energy by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 3,964,130 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $194,520,000 after purchasing an additional 310,890 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Viper Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $95,505,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Viper Energy by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,733,745 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $85,102,000 after purchasing an additional 35,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 1,589,404 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $77,992,000 after buying an additional 268,959 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VNOM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $51.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho started coverage on Viper Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Viper Energy from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $72.00 price objective on Viper Energy in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Viper Energy from $78.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Viper Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.62.

Viper Energy Trading Up 5.9 %

Shares of VNOM stock opened at $41.37 on Friday. Viper Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.71 and a 1-year high of $56.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.36. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 7.24 and a quick ratio of 7.24.

Viper Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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.