Insider Selling: ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) SVP Sells $1,282,168.05 in Stock

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP opened at $130.79 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.57 and a 12 month high of $135.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 5,166,069 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $537,065,000 after purchasing an additional 70,251 shares in the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 11.2% during the second quarter. Brown Financial Advisors now owns 12,950 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.7% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 846,912 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $88,045,000 after buying an additional 95,257 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth about $14,139,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,228.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 147,873,744 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $15,372,954,000 after acquiring an additional 146,441,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

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.