Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 64,641 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 921,542 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after buying an additional 64,641 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $116,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in shares of EOG Resources by 149.4% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 202 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of EOG Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total transaction of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. This represents a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on EOG shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com lowered EOG Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded EOG Resources from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on EOG Resources from $149.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.67.

EOG Resources Stock Performance

Shares of EOG opened at $126.84 on Friday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.78 and a 52 week high of $139.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.25.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The energy exploration company reported $2.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.96 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. Equities analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 16th will be given a dividend of $0.975 per share. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 16th. EOG Resources’s payout ratio is 34.73%.

EOG Resources 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.