Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 1,083 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 29.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,778 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in EOG Resources during the third quarter worth $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in EOG Resources by 203.7% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 328 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. 89.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EOG Resources news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total value of $76,867.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the business’s 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 $5,162,365.67. The trade was a 8.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

EOG Resources Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of EOG opened at $133.91 on Friday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.94 and a 1 year high of $139.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.27. The firm has a market cap of $75.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.29.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The energy exploration company reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.73 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $5.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 29.18% and a return on equity of 23.77%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy exploration company to reacquire up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $0.975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a boost from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EOG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on EOG Resources from $167.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research raised shares of EOG Resources from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $144.00 price target (down from $151.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.86.

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.