Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 19.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,560 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 1,594 shares during the quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 13,438 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 196.5% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,846 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 2,471 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 43,368 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares during the period. Finally, Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 10,922 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COP. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up previously from $155.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Argus upgraded shares of ConocoPhillips to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.29.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE COP opened at $109.87 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $101.29 and a one year high of $135.18. The company has a market capitalization of $127.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.22.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In other news, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total value of $6,000,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,288,321.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.