Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 103,651 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,200 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 103,651 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $10,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. West Tower Group LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. West Tower Group LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 11,485 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,075,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 75,617 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $6,840,000 after buying an additional 2,821 shares during the last quarter. Corus Family Wealth Advisors raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Corus Family Wealth Advisors now owns 2,874 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth $1,254,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total transaction of $1,733,345.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,751.04. This trade represents a 53.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,689.92. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:COP opened at $117.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.92. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $84.28 and a 12 month high of $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COP shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Argus raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $132.84.

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.