USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 134,300 Shares of Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd significantly reduced its holdings in Devon Energy Corporation, selling 134,300 shares and lowering its position by 75.8% in the first quarter of the year.
• Devon Energy disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.
• Devon Energy reported earnings of $0.84 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues increasing by 9.4% year-over-year to $4.28 billion.

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its position in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN - Free Report) by 75.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,786 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 134,300 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Devon Energy were worth $1,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Devon Energy by 81.1% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,029,987 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $188,131,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252,918 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 82,780,738 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,096,000,000 after buying an additional 2,098,568 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Devon Energy during the first quarter worth about $69,975,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Devon Energy by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,558,362 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $132,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Devon Energy by 530.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,067,465 shares of the energy company's stock worth $77,323,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739,436 shares during the last quarter. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Devon Energy

In related news, Director Kelt Kindick sold 7,685 shares of Devon Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.46, for a total transaction of $257,140.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,064,061.46. The trade was a 19.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Devon Energy from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Devon Energy from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.15.

Devon Energy Stock Down 0.6%

DVN traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $35.31. 6,241,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,211,215. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.88 and a 200 day moving average of $33.16. Devon Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $25.89 and a 12-month high of $43.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $22.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.09.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Devon Energy had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 16.57%.The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Devon Energy's payout ratio is 21.52%.

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.