West Family Investments Inc. Buys Shares of 4,280 Phillips 66 $PSX

West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,280 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PSX. NFSG Corp increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 105.6% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Phillips 66 in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth $29,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, SWAN Capital LLC boosted its position in Phillips 66 by 1,055.6% during the 4th quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.93% of the company’s stock.

Phillips 66 Stock Down 0.4%

PSX stock opened at $242.53 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $196.37 and a 200 day moving average of $178.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.77 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Phillips 66 has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $244.73.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.50 by $1.91. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The company had revenue of $52.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 24.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Phillips 66’s payout ratio is 28.95%.

Insider Activity at Phillips 66

In other Phillips 66 news, EVP Richard G. Harbison sold 52,100 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.76, for a total transaction of $11,657,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,747,673.44. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $6,450,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,242,925. This represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 100,507 shares of company stock valued at $21,770,810 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Phillips 66 from $188.00 to $202.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Phillips 66 from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Phillips 66 from $207.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $212.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Phillips 66 to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $206.56.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company’s principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.