Arax Advisory Partners Has $1.43 Million Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Arax Advisory Partners cut its ConocoPhillips stake by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 15,317 shares valued at about $1.43 million.
• Insiders sold shares during the quarter, including CEO Ryan Michael Lance’s sale of 113,221 shares for about $15.0 million; overall insider ownership is now just 0.09%.
• ConocoPhillips recently beat quarterly earnings expectations and continues paying a dividend of $0.84 per share, which annualizes to a 3.0% yield. Analysts remain generally positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of $134.48.

Arax Advisory Partners trimmed its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,317 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 12,800 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners' holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,570 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,018 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,160 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $685,488.70. This represents a 56.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 634,715 shares of company stock valued at $81,410,816. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP opened at $112.14 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $120.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.80. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The company has a market capitalization of $136.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.ConocoPhillips's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips is pursuing a major growth opportunity in Alaska’s North Slope, where the $9 billion Willow project could eventually add about $4 billion in annual incremental cash flow and help the company double free cash flow by 2029. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that ConocoPhillips may sign a deal with Syria’s new government to revive gas production could open a new international growth avenue, though the project is still early and details are limited. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised ConocoPhillips from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $134.48.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.

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