ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 34.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 100,969 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 54,217 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $118.57 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $102.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.71. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $122.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm downgraded ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.