Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $28.28 Million Holdings in Devon Energy Corporation $DVN

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) by 643.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 562,059 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 486,473 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Devon Energy were worth $28,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tobam boosted its position in shares of Devon Energy by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 1,633 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Devon Energy by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Devon Energy by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,712 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Devon Energy by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in Devon Energy by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 3,527 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the period. 69.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on DVN. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Devon Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Devon Energy in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Evercore upgraded Devon Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Devon Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.56.

Devon Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of DVN stock opened at $42.72 on Wednesday. Devon Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.47 and a fifty-two week high of $52.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.38.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.02). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Devon Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Devon Energy

In other Devon Energy news, EVP Jeffrey L. Ritenour sold 70,029 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.66, for a total transaction of $3,267,553.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 428,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,991,570.32. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Adam M. Vela sold 24,342 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.21, for a total transaction of $1,149,185.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 130,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,162,793.40. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 112,371 shares of company stock worth $5,258,059 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.58% of the company’s stock.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the exploration, development, production and marketing of hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. Devon operates as an upstream energy company that acquires, evaluates and develops onshore resource plays using a combination of drilling, completion and production optimization techniques.

Core business activities include identifying and developing energy reserves, operating well programs and managing reservoir performance to generate production and cash flow.