Insider Selling: ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Sells $4,751,600.00 in Stock

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Director Timothy Leach sold 40,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,847,754.69. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $117.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $144.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.27. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $122.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on COP. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research cut ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $117.54.

ConocoPhillips News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs added ConocoPhillips to its U.S. Conviction List — a high‑profile institutional endorsement that can attract buyers and support the stock amid energy-market volatility. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Heightened Middle East geopolitical risk (Iran’s new, harder‑line supreme leader) is increasing supply‑risk premiums that typically benefit large E&P names like COP. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades, price‑target increases and a solid dividend yield (annualized $3.36, ~2.9%) continue to underpin demand from income and institutional buyers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is shifting emphasis from growth to cash‑harvesting after the Marathon Oil deal; that can lead to higher buybacks/dividends but raises questions about long‑term growth and deal economics. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips plans a ~ $2 billion divestiture of certain Permian assets as part of portfolio reshaping — a near‑term reduction in asset base that could improve focus and cash conversion but may trim growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling from senior executives and a director (e.g., SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose and Director Timothy Leach) has drawn attention; large, disclosed sales can add short‑term selling pressure and raise governance questions for some investors. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Louisiana is reportedly nearing a deal with ConocoPhillips over coastal erosion — potential settlement, remediation costs or reputational risk could be a longer‑term liability for the company. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Today’s oil‑price volatility — an earlier spike tied to Middle East tensions that later pulled back on strategic‑reserve headlines — increases earnings and multiple uncertainty for upstream names. Read More.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after buying an additional 7,037,873 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $707,461,000 after buying an additional 3,135,315 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,778,664 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $966,267,000 after buying an additional 2,575,803 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 229.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $336,544,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,880,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

About ConocoPhillips

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.