Sit Investment Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Sit Investment Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 144,911 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 22,070 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $13,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $11,256,713,000 after acquiring an additional 408,304 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in 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. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,038,675 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,407,770,000 after acquiring an additional 648,432 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,389,862,000 after acquiring an additional 193,401 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,228,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,010 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $685,488.70. This trade represents a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 634,715 shares of company stock worth $81,410,816. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $115.41 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.41. 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 cap of $140.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 57.05%.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips joined TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy in an MoU with the Syrian Petroleum Company to explore offshore Block 3 in the Mediterranean, which could create a new long-term exploration opportunity if the project advances. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on COP remains constructive overall, with some analysts highlighting the company’s resilience and others maintaining upbeat price targets, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside potential over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy stocks broadly have been stronger this year, and the sector ETF’s gains show investors are still favoring oil and gas names despite recent pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips reported solid last quarter results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, which continues to support the investment case even though year-over-year revenue declined.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been negative, with a recent director stock sale adding to a pattern of insider selling that can weigh on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article framed COP as vulnerable to additional market weakness, reinforcing concerns that the stock could stay tied to crude-price moves if oil sentiment softens further. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Capital One Financial dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seventeen investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.