ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips by 41.3%, owning 174,924 shares worth approximately $18.37 million after selling 122,927 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes in ConocoPhillips, with Charles Schwab Investment Management boosting its position by 379.7%, now holding over 40 million shares valued at $4.21 billion.
• ConocoPhillips exceeded earnings expectations for the last quarter, reporting $1.42 EPS, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, giving an annual yield of 3.4%.

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 41.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 174,924 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 122,927 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $18,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 379.7% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,094,754 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,210,751,000 after purchasing an additional 31,736,423 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth $658,981,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 190.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,664,408 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $484,539,000 after buying an additional 3,058,505 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10,440.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,964,189 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $311,299,000 after buying an additional 2,936,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 30.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,972,545 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $942,297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,080,625 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $123.00 target price (up previously from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Sunday, August 10th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.95.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $92.97 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $79.88 and a 1-year high of $116.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.76 and a 200-day moving average of $93.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $116.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.69.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The firm had revenue of $14.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. ConocoPhillips's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Company Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.

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