Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 100 Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its stake in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 417 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources were worth $94,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 45.5% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 21,079 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $4,839,000 after purchasing an additional 6,589 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 610.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 618,449 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $141,965,000 after purchasing an additional 531,418 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 7.1% in the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 51,608 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $11,847,000 after purchasing an additional 3,438 shares in the last quarter. SCP Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 80.0% in the third quarter. SCP Investment LP now owns 1,800 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 34.2% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 440,522 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $101,122,000 after purchasing an additional 112,261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PXD shares. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $243.00 to $224.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $269.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, March 28th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.90.

Insider Transactions at Pioneer Natural Resources

In related news, Director Phillip A. Gobe sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.12, for a total value of $522,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,906,787.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.95, for a total transaction of $369,505.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,140.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Phillip A. Gobe sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.12, for a total transaction of $522,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,906,787.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,766 shares of company stock valued at $9,067,373. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Up 0.1 %

PXD stock opened at $269.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $196.74 and a 12 month high of $270.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $239.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.55.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas development company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. Pioneer Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 25.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 20.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $2.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $10.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Pioneer Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.70%.

Pioneer Natural Resources Profile

Pioneer Natural Resources Company operates as an independent oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores for, develops, and produces oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and gas. It has operations in the Midland Basin in West Texas. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.