Conning Inc. Reduces Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Conning Inc. reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,059 shares and leaving it with 353,072 shares valued at about $33.1 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with EVP Nicholas G. Olds and Director Timothy A. Leach both trimming holdings; insiders sold 734,891 shares worth $93.3 million over the last 90 days.
• ConocoPhillips reported solid quarterly results and a dividend, beating EPS and revenue estimates for the quarter and declaring a $0.84 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.8% annual yield.

Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 353,072 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 10,059 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $33,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total transaction of $1,733,345.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,751.04. This represents a 53.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 411,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. This trade represents a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips’ Q1 earnings update was in line to better than expected on key metrics, reinforcing the view that the company’s upstream portfolio is still generating solid cash flow and profitability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted ConocoPhillips as a strong buy and argued that long-term cash flow tailwinds could support additional upside, which may be helping sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital maintained an outperform rating and raised its price target to $135, signaling continued confidence in ConocoPhillips’ valuation and earnings potential. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: News that ConocoPhillips, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy will assess a Syrian offshore gas block, along with TotalEnergies’ expansion in Egypt, adds to the company’s exploration optionality and could support future reserve growth. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed the board, governance and auditors at the annual meeting, removing a potential source of uncertainty but not materially changing the near-term investment case. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles comparing COP with other value stocks are more about valuation screening than a direct operational catalyst, so they are likely to have limited immediate impact on the shares. Article Title

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $118.84 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.28 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $122.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.13. The company has a market cap of $144.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. ConocoPhillips's revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COP. Capital One Financial upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Roth Mkm lowered ConocoPhillips from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $112.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.84.

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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