ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Bought by MUFG Securities EMEA plc

MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 944.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 249,659 shares of the energy producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 225,753 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $23,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $114.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $123.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.46. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.33 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The stock has a market cap of $138.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total transaction of $1,733,345.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,751.04. This trade represents a 53.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 411,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Capital One Financial decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.