ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 119,263 shares and ending with 9.19 million shares valued at about $860 million.
• Insider selling has also been notable, with SVPs Kelly Brunetti Rose and Andrew D. Lundquist both selling shares in March; insiders have sold 734,891 shares worth about $93.3 million over the last 90 days.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $15.76 billion, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $134.48.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,186,558 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 119,263 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.74% of ConocoPhillips worth $859,954,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 2,570 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,018 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,160 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $1,003,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,893,431.36. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 in the last ninety days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

COP opened at $119.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $145.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.23 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business's revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is presently 57.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on COP shares. Mizuho raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Argus upped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Freedom Capital downgraded ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Capital One Financial lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.48.

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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