Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $287.41 Million Position in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,241,223 shares of the energy exploration company's stock after selling 191,849 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of EOG Resources worth $287,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EOG. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 4,642.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,852,238 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $349,627,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792,092 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in EOG Resources by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 45,919,327 shares of the energy exploration company's stock worth $5,628,497,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270,013 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in EOG Resources during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,193,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 14,784.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,281,374 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $164,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in EOG Resources by 58.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,081,409 shares of the energy exploration company's stock valued at $255,139,000 after buying an additional 769,362 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 3,951 shares of EOG Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.65, for a total value of $472,737.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,472,671.35. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on EOG shares. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $140.00 price objective (up previously from $135.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of EOG Resources in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $148.00 target price (up from $144.00) on shares of EOG Resources in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on EOG Resources from $149.00 to $132.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.48.

EOG Resources Trading Up 1.3%

EOG stock traded up $1.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $124.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,437,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,404,460. The stock has a market cap of $67.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.78 and a 200-day moving average of $121.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. EOG Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $102.52 and a one year high of $138.18.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The energy exploration company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $0.12. EOG Resources had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 22.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a positive change from EOG Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.98. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 17th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. EOG Resources's payout ratio is presently 36.18%.

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.