ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Bought by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 150,011 shares valued at about $14.0 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.89 versus the $1.72 estimate and revenue of $15.76 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $134.60.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, or $3.36 annually, yielding about 2.9%; meanwhile, insiders have been selling shares, including two recent executive sales and $93.3 million in insider stock sales over the last 90 days.

Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 150,011 shares of the energy producer's stock after acquiring an additional 20,978 shares during the quarter. ConocoPhillips accounts for approximately 0.9% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $14,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COP. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,090,689.92. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 over the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $114.01 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $123.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.61. 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 company has a market capitalization of $138.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $84.33 and a 1-year high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 57.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.60.

About ConocoPhillips

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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