ConocoPhillips $COP Stake Lessened by Washington Trust Bank

Key Points

• Washington Trust Bank reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 20,594 shares and leaving it with 46,907 shares valued at about $4.39 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share versus estimates of $1.72, while revenue also slightly beat forecasts at $15.76 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, which annualizes to $3.36 and yields about 2.9%; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a target price of $133.04.

Washington Trust Bank cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,907 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 20,594 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $4,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.1% during 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 buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,018 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 7,160 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,414 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,231 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $209,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total value of $15,025,558.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $115.55 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $140.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.14. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $84.28 and a 52 week high of $135.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.51.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COP shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.04.

ConocoPhillips 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.

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