ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC decreased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,459 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 7,065 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 91.1% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $7,622,000 after buying an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $70,397,000 after purchasing an additional 44,852 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total transaction of $64,495,368.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,822.10. The trade was a 98.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,751.04. The trade was a 53.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 686,391 shares of company stock worth $87,590,752. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $117.10 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.08 and a 200-day moving average of $109.58. The company has a market capitalization of $142.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is 57.05%.

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.