Van Den Berg Management I Inc. Sells 17,001 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Van Den Berg Management I Inc. cut its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 40.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,761 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 17,001 shares during the quarter. Van Den Berg Management I Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth about $1,169,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,896,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 153,240 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 10,779 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,608,643 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $252,256,000 after purchasing an additional 102,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,498,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. This trade represents a 49.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $143.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $130.46 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $117.42 and a 200-day moving average of $118.56. 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 stock has a market cap of $156.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.79 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.