Ascent Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has decreased its stock holdings in ConocoPhillips by 40.9%, resulting in ownership of 14,822 shares valued at approximately $1.56 million after selling 10,271 shares.
• ConocoPhillips has recently been rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $120.86 and 16 analysts issuing Buy ratings.
• The company reported an EPS of $1.42 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78, yielding 3.4%.

Ascent Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 40.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,822 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 10,271 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,348 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,717,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,081,207 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $112,628,000 after acquiring an additional 43,882 shares during the period. Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,710,000. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 37,361 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $3,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $117.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.86.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of COP stock traded down $1.53 on Friday, hitting $92.60. 5,169,385 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,845,575. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $79.88 and a one year high of $116.08. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $94.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.69.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About ConocoPhillips

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.