Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 438,282 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 97,585 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $41,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $979,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,555 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,228,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,010 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $135,265,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $128,470,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE COP opened at $119.82 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.57 and a 12 month high of $135.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $121.19 and a 200-day moving average of $110.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $145.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $685,488.70. This trade represents a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 671,869 shares of company stock worth $85,857,406. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Roth Mkm lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Freedom Capital cut ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.48.

Key ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Crude-oil sentiment improved as Middle East supply disruptions and tight inventory conditions kept a floor under oil prices, benefiting large U.S. exploration and production names like ConocoPhillips. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlighted ConocoPhillips as an energy name positioned to navigate industry pressures, reinforcing the view that COP is relatively well placed versus peers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader energy-sector strength has helped improve sentiment toward oil stocks, with the sector outperforming the market this year and drawing renewed investor attention to names like COP. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted that ConocoPhillips did not fall as much as oil prices during a prior pullback, suggesting the stock may be trading more resiliently than crude itself, but without a major company-specific catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: There was also a backdrop of mixed investor positioning, including significant institutional trimming in recent quarters, which can weigh on sentiment even as near-term oil prices improve. Article Title

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.