Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Acquires 10,404 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 511,493 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after buying an additional 10,404 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in EOG Resources were worth $62,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of EOG Resources in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in EOG Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in EOG Resources by 203.7% during the third 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 period. Finally, Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in EOG Resources in the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 89.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total transaction of $76,867.44. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.89, for a total value of $483,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 42,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,162,365.67. The trade was a 8.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EOG. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on EOG Resources from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of EOG Resources from $167.00 to $154.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $156.00 to $148.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.71.

EOG Resources Trading Up 0.4 %

EOG stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $128.11. 1,395,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,537,437. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $127.48 and a 200-day moving average of $126.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.29. 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 initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy exploration company to repurchase up to 7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $3.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is an increase from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. EOG Resources’s payout ratio is presently 31.40%.

About EOG Resources

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.