Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 26,820 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Everence Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,877 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 26,820 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises 0.6% of Everence Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $8,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COP. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 98,832.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,584,373 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,012,956,000 after buying an additional 8,575,696 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,964,432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497,750 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $310,102,000. Cowa LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6,475.2% in the first quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 2,375,224 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,383,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter valued at $186,330,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 target price (up previously from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.59.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE COP traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, hitting $129.53. The company had a trading volume of 3,873,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,500,659. The company has a market capitalization of $152.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $119.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.29. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $95.70 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This is a positive change from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other ConocoPhillips news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total value of $953,070.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 4,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.55, for a total value of $502,781.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $293,399.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.