Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stake in ConocoPhillips $COP

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 58.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 665,298 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 955,146 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $69,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 93,886,457 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $9,760,436,000 after acquiring an additional 2,712,703 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,360,060 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,527,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,714,663 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 12.0% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,072,154 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,566,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609,759 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,407,770,000 after purchasing an additional 648,432 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 9,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.15, for a total value of $1,282,168.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,296,493.95. The trade was a 49.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Mizuho lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.29.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.7%

COP stock opened at $130.46 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $118.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $85.57 and a 52-week high of $135.88. The firm has a market cap of $156.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The energy producer reported $3.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.34. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.72% and a net margin of 14.22%.The firm had revenue of $19.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.42 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.44%.

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.