ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 224,821 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 42,662 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $26,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.9% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $51,213,000 after buying an additional 9,313 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 59.1% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $127.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.09. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $95.70 and a fifty-two week high of $135.18. The company has a market cap of $150.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.61%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Dominic E. Macklon sold 23,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.17, for a total transaction of $2,621,637.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 700,775 shares of company stock valued at $87,615,169 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $141.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $152.00 to $133.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $139.00 price target (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.00.

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.