Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 171,429 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has decreased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 8.2%, now owning 1,916,071 shares valued at approximately $201.2 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported earnings of $1.42 per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.06 and achieving a revenue of $14.94 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, translating into an annualized dividend of $3.12 and a yield of 3.3%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,916,071 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 171,429 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.15% of ConocoPhillips worth $201,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Second Line Capital LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,990 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. KLCM Advisors Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.6% in the first quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 4,503 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,177 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 4,361 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $91.35. The stock had a trading volume of 9,746,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,009,294. The firm has a market cap of $114.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.08. 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 has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $116.08.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COP. Scotiabank raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $123.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.