ConocoPhillips $COP Position Reduced by Conning Inc.

Key Points

• Conning Inc. cut its ConocoPhillips stake by 11.2% in the first quarter, selling 39,369 shares and leaving it with 313,703 shares worth about $41.4 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mostly positive, with 18 analysts rating COP a Buy, nine a Hold, and one a Sell; the consensus target price is $134.04.
• ConocoPhillips beat first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $1.89 per share versus $1.72 expected, while revenue came in at $15.76 billion; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share.

Conning Inc. decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 313,703 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 39,369 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips makes up 1.4% of Conning Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Conning Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $41,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 216.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $144.00 to $138.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.04.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP stock opened at $109.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $114.15 and a 200 day moving average of $112.66. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

ConocoPhillips 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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