Drive Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Key Points

• Drive Wealth Management LLC significantly reduced its position in ConocoPhillips by 66.8%, selling 9,651 shares and holding 4,801 shares worth $504,000.
• ConocoPhillips reported earnings per share of $2.09 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.05.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, yielding approximately 3.29%, with a payout ratio of 39.64%.

Drive Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 66.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,801 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 9,651 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COP. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,847,572 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,546,706,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,078 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.0% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 8,189 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 159.6% in the 1st quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 853.3% in the first quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 5,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $9,580,000 after acquiring an additional 54,900 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COP. Citigroup reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $119.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $121.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE COP traded down $1.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $96.58. 1,901,842 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,170,063. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.13. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $116.08. The firm has a market cap of $122.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.61.

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

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. 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.