Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 593,823 Shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG) by 577.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 696,596 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock after purchasing an additional 593,823 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.12% of EOG Resources worth $85,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 64.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,284,228 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $694,717,000 after buying an additional 2,076,134 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of EOG Resources by 856.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,200,851 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock valued at $147,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,334 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of EOG Resources in the 2nd quarter valued at $106,990,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of EOG Resources by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,840,705 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $609,300,000 after purchasing an additional 403,676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of EOG Resources by 42.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,113,429 shares of the energy exploration company’s stock worth $136,874,000 after purchasing an additional 333,947 shares during the period. 89.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Janet F. Clark sold 568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.33, for a total value of $76,867.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,891,185.56. This trade represents a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 4,000 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 42,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,162,365.67. This represents a 8.56 % 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on EOG shares. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $157.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on EOG Resources from $127.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.48.

EOG Resources Price Performance

NYSE:EOG opened at $137.17 on Thursday. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.94 and a 52-week high of $139.67. The company has a market cap of $77.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.29. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $128.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.84.

EOG Resources declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy exploration company to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.975 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from EOG Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. EOG Resources’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.40%.

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.