Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $206.85 Million Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,209,685 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 222,244 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $206,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COP. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $117.10 on Monday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $85.57 and a 12 month high of $135.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.58. 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 firm has a market cap of $142.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total value of $1,001,231.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. This trade represents a 23.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 686,391 shares of company stock worth $87,590,752. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.