&PARTNERS Buys 20,521 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

&PARTNERS grew its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 330,277 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,521 shares during the period. &PARTNERS’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $30,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:COP opened at $111.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $135.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.11. 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 50 day moving average price is $119.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.97. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $85.57 and a 52 week high of $135.87.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was 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. This represents a 98.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $888,657.64. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 634,715 shares of company stock worth $81,410,816 over the last quarter. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips signed a deal with Syria’s state oil company and Novaterra to revive gas production and develop new fields, which could add long-term production opportunities and improve growth prospects. Syria signs deal with ConocoPhillips, Novaterra to revive gas production
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also focused on ConocoPhillips’ Alaska North Slope strategy, including the Willow project, which could eventually add meaningful free cash flow if it reaches full production. This Top Oil Stock Expects an Unlikely Source to Help It Double Its Free Cash Flow by 2029.
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy-sector selling has been broad-based, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index falling in afternoon trading, suggesting COP’s move is being driven more by sector weakness than by a company-specific setback. Sector Update: Energy Stocks Decline Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: Lower oil prices after the U.S.-Iran interim peace deal have weighed on ConocoPhillips and other oil producers, reducing near-term expectations for upstream earnings and cash flow. Oil Prices Slump, Exxon and Chevron Stocks Drop After Trump Iran Deal

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.