Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 899,752 Shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN)

Merit Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Devon Energy Co. (NYSE:DVN) by 99.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,445 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 899,752 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Devon Energy by 23.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,647,104 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $555,567,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,194 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Devon Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,539,335 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $386,832,000 after purchasing an additional 68,339 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Devon Energy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,774,537 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $323,145,000 after purchasing an additional 82,607 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Devon Energy by 1,279.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,145,605 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $278,396,000 after buying an additional 5,700,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 15.0% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,355,552 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $255,460,000 after buying an additional 697,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

Devon Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of DVN opened at $50.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.02 and a 200 day moving average of $46.31. Devon Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $40.47 and a fifty-two week high of $55.09.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The energy company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 29.02% and a net margin of 22.27%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Devon Energy Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Devon Energy’s payout ratio is currently 16.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tana K. Cashion sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.04, for a total transaction of $1,020,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,182 shares in the company, valued at $5,317,449.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DVN shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Devon Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Devon Energy from $53.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Devon Energy from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Devon Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.44.

Devon Energy Company Profile

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.