ConocoPhillips $COP Stock Position Lessened by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co reduced its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,480 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 5,303 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $6,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 249.5% in the second quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $111.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51 and a beta of 0.32. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $79.88 and a 1 year high of $111.98.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is 53.00%.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,152,410. This trade represents a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $112.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $113.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.00.

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.