Morningstar Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Morningstar Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 75.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,337 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 68,923 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COP. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Truist Financial set a $128.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $317,630.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $677,747.84. This trade represents a 31.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE COP opened at $120.48 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $84.28 and a one year high of $135.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $123.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

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.