ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its ConocoPhillips stake by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 13,197 shares and leaving it with 1,034,535 shares valued at about $96.8 million. Institutional investors still own a large 82.36% of the company.
• ConocoPhillips recently beat earnings and revenue expectations for the quarter, reporting $1.89 EPS versus $1.72 expected and $15.76 billion in revenue versus $15.62 billion expected. However, revenue was still down 6.1% year over year.
• The stock has support from analysts and dividends, but insider selling remains a concern with a recent quarterly payout of $0.84 per share yielding 2.9%, and an average analyst target of $134.48 with a Moderate Buy rating. At the same time, insiders sold 634,715 shares last quarter, including recent sales by two executives.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,034,535 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 13,197 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of ConocoPhillips worth $96,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Key Headlines Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips joined TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy in an MoU with the Syrian Petroleum Company to explore offshore Block 3 in the Mediterranean, which could create a new long-term exploration opportunity if the project advances. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on COP remains constructive overall, with some analysts highlighting the company’s resilience and others maintaining upbeat price targets, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside potential over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy stocks broadly have been stronger this year, and the sector ETF’s gains show investors are still favoring oil and gas names despite recent pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips reported solid last quarter results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, which continues to support the investment case even though year-over-year revenue declined.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been negative, with a recent director stock sale adding to a pattern of insider selling that can weigh on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article framed COP as vulnerable to additional market weakness, reinforcing concerns that the stock could stay tied to crude-price moves if oil sentiment softens further. Article Title

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 3.8%

NYSE:COP opened at $115.41 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $140.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $85.57 and a 12-month 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. Equities research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ConocoPhillips from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total transaction of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total value of $888,657.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 634,715 shares of company stock valued at $81,410,816 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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