Empyrean Capital Partners LP Sells 28,600 Shares of Phillips 66 $PSX

Empyrean Capital Partners LP cut its stake in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 236,200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 28,600 shares during the period. Phillips 66 accounts for 1.4% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Empyrean Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Phillips 66 were worth $43,031,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,930,038 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,701,052,000 after purchasing an additional 205,480 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,589,550 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,043,996,000 after purchasing an additional 175,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,413,824 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,338,596,000 after buying an additional 45,340 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 during the fourth quarter worth $640,206,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Phillips 66 by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,944,561 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $509,006,000 after buying an additional 89,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.93% of the company’s stock.

Phillips 66 Stock Up 0.5%

Phillips 66 stock opened at $207.72 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.69. Phillips 66 has a 12-month low of $118.07 and a 12-month high of $216.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.09 and its 200 day moving average is $168.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54) by $1.03. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The business had revenue of $32.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.90) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 22.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is 50.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 11,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.03, for a total transaction of $2,094,320.63. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 97,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,504,361.28. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Kevin Omar Meyers purchased 175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $173.12 per share, for a total transaction of $30,296.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 16,799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,908,242.88. This represents a 1.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,021 shares of company stock valued at $7,195,257. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PSX shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $170.00 to $212.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Phillips 66 from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $187.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Phillips 66 from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.72.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company’s principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.