Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 12,659 Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its stake in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 565,629 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock after selling 12,659 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.24% of Pioneer Natural Resources worth $127,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 61.1% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 116 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $29,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 77.4% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 149 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Pioneer Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 85.0% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 148 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 80.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Down 0.7 %

PXD opened at $269.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $196.74 and a 52 week high of $278.83.

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 firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.28 billion. Pioneer Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 25.28%. Pioneer Natural Resources’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 20.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $2.56 dividend. This represents a $10.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Pioneer Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,990 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,140.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.95, for a total transaction of $369,505.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,302,140.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott D. Sheffield sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.25, for a total value of $2,352,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 462,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,711,848. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,766 shares of company stock worth $9,067,373. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $243.00 to $224.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $279.00 price target on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $230.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $259.00.

Pioneer Natural Resources Company 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.