ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.

Key Points

• Capital Group Private Client Services reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 24,804 shares and leaving it with 108,113 shares worth about $10.12 million.
• Several other hedge funds adjusted positions too, and institutional investors still own a large majority of the stock at 82.36%. Insider selling has also been notable, with executives selling a total of 694,891 shares worth $88.6 million in the last three months.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $15.76 billion, and it recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, implying a 2.9% annual yield.

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,113 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 24,804 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $10,120,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,370 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,018 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $751,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,160 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total value of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. This trade represents a 23.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Heather G. Hrap sold 2,654 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $317,630.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,747.84. This represents a 31.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 694,891 shares of company stock valued at $88,594,092 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

COP stock opened at $117.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year high of $135.87. The stock's fifty day moving average is $122.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.43.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on COP shares. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.48.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.