Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 64.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,873 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 4,663 shares during the quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,591,447 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $12,328,767,000 after purchasing an additional 50,116,727 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $9,760,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,712,703 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,566,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,759 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,044,489 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,457,978,000 after purchasing an additional 74,261 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 10.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,181,950 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,344,017,000 after buying an additional 995,392 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total transaction of $1,282,168.05. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices rose on supply concerns. Crude prices gained amid worries about Middle East shipping routes and a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories. A stronger commodity backdrop typically supports ConocoPhillips’ realized prices, cash flow and earnings. ConocoPhillips gains as oil prices jump on supply fears
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded COP to “Strong Buy.” The upgrade reflects ConocoPhillips’ earnings-surprise history and what Zacks describes as favorable conditions for another quarterly earnings beat. The company’s latest reported quarter exceeded both earnings and revenue expectations, while full-year guidance was reaffirmed. Will ConocoPhillips Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional interest provided additional support. Worth Asset Management initiated a position, while recent filings showed share additions by several large investors, including JPMorgan, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price and Charles Schwab Investment Management. Analysts tracked by Quiver Quantitative have issued buy or overweight ratings, with a reported median price target of $143.
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term LNG exposure remains a potential catalyst. ConocoPhillips agreed to purchase 1 million metric tons of LNG annually from Venture Global beginning in 2030 under a 20-year agreement. The deal expands its long-term natural-gas exposure, although the financial benefit is several years away. ConocoPhillips Could Be 11% Undervalued Following New 20 Year LNG Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity was mixed for investors. Three insiders sold shares during the past six months, with no reported open-market purchases. These sales may raise a modest caution flag, but they do not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s operating outlook.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Argus upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.29.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 3.4%

COP stock opened at $134.24 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a twelve month low of $85.57 and a twelve month high of $141.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.96.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids and liquefied natural gas. Unlike integrated energy companies, ConocoPhillips focuses primarily on upstream activities rather than refining and retail fuel operations.

The company has a diversified portfolio of assets in major producing regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway and Qatar. Its U.S. operations include oil and gas developments in Alaska and the Lower 48 states, while its international portfolio includes conventional and offshore projects.