Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Trims Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lessened its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 75.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,620 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 132,413 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of COP stock opened at $132.85 on Tuesday. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $135.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.44.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research cut ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total value of $1,003,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at $3,893,431.36. This represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,090,689.92. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 621,670 shares of company stock worth $78,320,133 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.