ConocoPhillips $COP Position Trimmed by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its stock position in ConocoPhillips by 63.8%, owning 440,852 shares after selling 777,470 shares in the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their stakes in ConocoPhillips, with a significant percentage of shares (82.36%) currently held by institutional investors.
• ConocoPhillips recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.42, beating estimates and announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, yielding 3.3% annually.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 63.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 440,852 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 777,470 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $46,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 10Elms LLP purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 341.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock traded down $0.3410 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $93.6590. 4,134,432 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,114,015. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $93.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $116.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.67. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $116.08.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on COP. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $117.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.89.

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.