The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 31,652 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,816,143 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 31,652 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $188,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COP. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 91.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,622,000 after acquiring an additional 40,499 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 6.1% in the second 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 during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter valued at about $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position 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 valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $137.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.69 and a 200 day moving average of $120.21. The company has a market cap of $164.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $138.89.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.54 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Argus increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $148.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.60.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is an independent exploration and production company engaged primarily in finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company sells its production to refiners, utilities, industrial customers and other energy market participants.

Its portfolio includes conventional and unconventional assets, with operations and development activities in the United States, including Alaska and the Lower 48, as well as Canada, Australia, Norway, Qatar and other international locations.