ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB cut its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 67,053 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 9,252 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $6,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 249.5% during the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Johnson Rice lowered ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.83.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Confirmed gas discovery in Australia’s Otway Basin adds to reserves and strengthens ConocoPhillips’ natural‑gas growth optionality — supports longer‑term production and value of downstream/ LNG optionality. ConocoPhillips Confirms Second Gas Discovery in Australia’s Otway Basin ConocoPhillips Australia discovers additional gas in Otway basin Charlemont Trend
• Neutral Sentiment: International oil companies are lobbying for Venezuelan law changes to allow freer exports of oil they produce — could expand export volumes for majors if enacted, but outcomes and timing remain uncertain for ConocoPhillips. International oil companies push for quick reforms in Venezuela to give them control over oil exports
• Neutral Sentiment: Wolfe Research trimmed its price target (126→122) but kept an outperform rating — a modest sign of caution but still indicates upside versus the current price. Wolfe adjusts price target on ConocoPhillips to $122 from $126, maintains outperform rating
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated an underperform stance (framed as a “sell equivalent”), citing relatively high oil breakevens for ConocoPhillips and preferring other names — this analyst view is pressuring sentiment. ConocoPhillips cut to sell equivalent at BofA on high oil breakeven; Ovintiv top oil pick
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan and other outlets published lower price targets (JPMorgan to $98; reports of a $6 reduction elsewhere), and MarketWatch highlighted COP’s recent underperformance vs. peers — multiple PT cuts and comparative underperformance are amplifying downside pressure. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $98.00 ConocoPhillips (COP) Price Target Lowered by $6 ConocoPhillips stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry commentators continue to favor select midstream/refining/shipping names over majors in the near term, signaling rotation risk for large oil producers like COP even if fundamentals remain intact. Don’t Trade the Venezuela Headlines. Why We’re Skipping Oil Majors to Zero In on These Energy Stocks Instead.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total transaction of $46,315,490.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Mcraven purchased 5,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,970.24. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $98.18 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $79.88 and a twelve month high of $106.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $121.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.90.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 14.25%.The company had revenue of $15.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The company’s activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.