ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 990,853 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 150,331 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.08% of ConocoPhillips worth $93,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,382,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,623,946,000 after purchasing an additional 287,970 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.6% during the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,393,875 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,291,706,000 after buying an additional 224,201 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 31.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $966,267,000 after buying an additional 2,575,803 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 66.0% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $707,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,424,232 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $577,471,000 after acquiring an additional 244,810 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP stock opened at $111.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $137.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.13. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $111.98.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other 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 value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. This represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $112.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.00.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

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.