Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 6,255 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Intech Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,734 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,255 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $3,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 64.3% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,179 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 8,286 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 47,335 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,431,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 19,207 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 83,603 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $7,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on COP. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Argus boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $153.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.48.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $115.42 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $85.23 and a 52-week high of $135.87. The company has a market cap of $140.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.11.

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. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Key ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts have recently raised their price targets on ConocoPhillips, including Barclays and Raymond James, while maintaining bullish or positive ratings, signaling continued Wall Street confidence in the company’s valuation and long-term earnings potential. Barclays Raises PT on ConocoPhillips (COP) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips was highlighted by hedge-fund and market-screening articles as one of the better oil and gas names to own, with analysts pointing to its deep resource base and LNG portfolio as key strengths. ConocoPhillips (COP) – Among the 14 Best Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds
• Positive Sentiment: Alaska lease-sale news is supportive for ConocoPhillips because the company was among the record bidders, and the expected boost in Alaskan oil production could improve future upstream opportunities for the industry. Alaskan frontier oil boom bodes well for energy industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary says ConocoPhillips has underperformed the Nasdaq over the past year, but this was balanced by the fact that analysts remain moderately optimistic and maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” view. Is ConocoPhillips Stock Underperforming the Nasdaq?

ConocoPhillips 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.