MML Investors Services LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG)

MML Investors Services LLC reduced its position in Diamondback Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FANG - Free Report) by 30.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,725 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 8,265 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Diamondback Energy were worth $3,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FANG. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Diamondback Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Diamondback Energy by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 296 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group boosted its stake in Diamondback Energy by 109.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 260 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total value of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. This trade represents a 92.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Lawrence Plaumann sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.00, for a total value of $208,150.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $852,872. This trade represents a 19.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Diamondback Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

FANG stock traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $163.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,718,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,775,083. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.49 and a 200 day moving average of $187.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Diamondback Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $147.93 and a 12 month high of $214.50. The company has a market capitalization of $47.69 billion, a PE ratio of 9.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.88.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and natural gas company reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.62 by ($1.24). Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 33.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Diamondback Energy, Inc. will post 16.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Diamondback Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on FANG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "sector outperform" rating on shares of Diamondback Energy in a report on Friday, October 18th. Johnson Rice cut shares of Diamondback Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup began coverage on Diamondback Energy in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $232.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.17.

Diamondback Energy Profile

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. It focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware basin, which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.