Arax Advisory Partners Sells 12,800 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Arax Advisory Partners reduced its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,317 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 12,800 shares during the period. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $11,256,713,000 after buying an additional 408,304 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,527,230,000 after buying an additional 2,714,663 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $3,880,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,645 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,407,770,000 after purchasing an additional 648,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,389,862,000 after purchasing an additional 193,401 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips is pursuing a major growth opportunity in Alaska’s North Slope, where the $9 billion Willow project could eventually add about $4 billion in annual incremental cash flow and help the company double free cash flow by 2029. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that ConocoPhillips may sign a deal with Syria’s new government to revive gas production could open a new international growth avenue, though the project is still early and details are limited. Article Title

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $112.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $136.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.80.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.48.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total transaction of $64,495,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,822.10. The trade was a 98.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 634,715 shares of company stock valued at $81,410,816 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.