ConocoPhillips $COP Stock Position Increased by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 150,011 shares of the energy producer’s stock after buying an additional 20,978 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up approximately 0.9% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $14,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COP. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,318,239,000 after buying an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $979,102,000 after buying an additional 2,467,555 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,228,886,000 after buying an additional 2,216,010 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth $135,265,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $128,470,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total transaction of $4,751,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 411,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. The trade was a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total value of $64,495,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,835 shares in the company, valued at $869,822.10. This represents a 98.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $114.01 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $84.33 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $138.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued 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 return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Zacks Research cut ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.60.

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.