Meridian Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,967 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,890 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,967 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $3,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EOG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in EOG Resources by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,411,032 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $2,140,338,000 after buying an additional 75,194 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in EOG Resources by 2.2% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,311,541 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $1,549,098,000 after buying an additional 260,727 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in EOG Resources by 9.1% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,840,705 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $609,300,000 after buying an additional 403,676 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in EOG Resources by 6.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,473,897 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $563,070,000 after buying an additional 258,732 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in EOG Resources by 3.2% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,254,645 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $523,024,000 after buying an additional 130,822 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, EVP Michael P. Donaldson sold 11,037 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total transaction of $1,429,291.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,250 shares in the company, valued at $9,615,375. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total transaction of $76,867.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 43,532 shares in the company, valued at $5,891,185.56. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

EOG Resources Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of EOG opened at $136.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.20. The company has a market capitalization of $76.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.94 and a 1-year high of $139.67.

EOG Resources declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy exploration company to purchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.975 dividend. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $167.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $143.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $144.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.00.

EOG Resources Company Profile

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.