Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,294 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,330 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in ConocoPhillips by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 641,990 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $74,516,000 after buying an additional 21,362 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank bought a new position in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Cairn Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Cairn Investment Group Inc. now owns 44,283 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $5,140,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Finally, Evercore Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,758 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,597,000 after acquiring an additional 343 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, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 55,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.11, for a total transaction of $6,000,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 455,909 shares in the company, valued at $49,288,321.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $114.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,585,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,971,043. The company has a market cap of $133.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.02. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $101.29 and a 12-month high of $135.18.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy producer reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.02. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 18.18%. The company had revenue of $14.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $147.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com cut ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $138.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.29.

ConocoPhillips 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.