Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 450,725 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. sold 450,725 shares of ConocoPhillips, reducing its holdings by 10.4% during the first quarter; the firm now owns approximately 3.87 million shares of the company.
• Several institutional investors, including Charles Schwab Investment Management, significantly increased their position in ConocoPhillips, with Schwab's stake growing by 379.7% to over 40 million shares.
• ConocoPhillips reported $1.42 earnings per share for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and declared a dividend of $0.78 to be paid on September 2nd.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,867,454 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 450,725 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up 0.8% of Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.31% of ConocoPhillips worth $406,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 379.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,094,754 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,210,751,000 after buying an additional 31,736,423 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,610,608 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,319,746,000 after buying an additional 437,709 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 30.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,972,545 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $942,297,000 after buying an additional 2,080,625 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 15.1% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,202,861 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $861,490,000 after buying an additional 1,073,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at about $658,981,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock traded down $2.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.97. 8,509,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,192,091. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.69. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $116.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $94.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 41.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COP shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $123.00 price target (up from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Sunday, August 10th. Susquehanna cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Melius Research began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.95.

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.