Financial Sense Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Financial Sense Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 48.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,462 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 25,840 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises about 0.8% of Financial Sense Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Financial Sense Advisors Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,884,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Second Line Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,990 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 7,091 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.9% in the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,177 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in ConocoPhillips by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 529 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank set a $100.00 price target on ConocoPhillips and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $121.33.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE:COP traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $95.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,234,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,275,449. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.46. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $116.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $120.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.64%.

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.