Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Position in Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Free Report) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 258,244 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,565 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.09% of Ovintiv worth $11,344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ovintiv by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 528,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,157,000 after buying an additional 51,261 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Ovintiv by 15.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 761,303 shares of the company's stock worth $36,215,000 after acquiring an additional 101,978 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ovintiv by 10.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,029,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,285,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,484,554 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Ovintiv by 2.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,124,654 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,500,000 after purchasing an additional 27,381 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in Ovintiv during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $18,097,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on OVV shares. Barclays started coverage on Ovintiv in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $69.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $52.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $69.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ovintiv presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of Ovintiv stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total value of $471,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 52,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,662,012.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Rachel Maureen Moore sold 9,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total transaction of $471,045.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,662,012.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Renee Ellen Zemljak sold 76,264 shares of Ovintiv stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.96, for a total transaction of $3,886,413.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,672 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,206,325.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,564 shares of company stock valued at $4,660,818. Company insiders own 0.97% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:OVV traded up $0.88 on Monday, reaching $52.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,490,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,012,144. Ovintiv Inc. has a 12-month low of $32.07 and a 12-month high of $55.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.69. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 2.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.41. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 19.50% and a net margin of 19.16%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ovintiv Inc. will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ovintiv Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.21%.

About Ovintiv

Ovintiv Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, produces, and markets natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Canada. The company operates through USA Operations, Canadian Operations, and Market Optimization segments. Its principal assets include Permian in west Texas and Anadarko in west-central Oklahoma; and Montney in northeast British Columbia and northwest Alberta.