Geode Capital Management LLC Trims Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management slightly reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 0.3% in Q4, but still held about 27.9 million shares valued at roughly $2.6 billion.
• Insider selling was notable: CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares and SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares, with insiders unloading a total of 734,891 shares over the last 90 days.
• Wall Street remains constructive on COP, with several analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating standing at Moderate Buy; the stock also recently beat earnings expectations and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share.

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,913,741 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 95,442 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.26% of ConocoPhillips worth $2,601,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,251,183 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $11,256,713,000 after acquiring an additional 408,304 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,318,239,000 after acquiring an additional 7,037,873 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,847,367 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,389,862,000 after acquiring an additional 193,401 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,228,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,010 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $979,102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467,555 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $1,003,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,893,431.36. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total value of $64,495,368.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 6,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,822.10. The trade was a 98.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 in the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Barclays raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $132.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.60.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $115.15 on Thursday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $123.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.14. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.28 and a 1 year high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business's revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 57.05%.

ConocoPhillips News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on ConocoPhillips to $150 from $136 and reiterated an outperform rating, implying meaningful upside versus the current share price. Mizuho raises price target on ConocoPhillips
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley also increased its price target on COP, reinforcing the view that Wall Street sees room for more gains. ConocoPhillips price target raised by Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Oil prices moved higher as renewed US-Iran tensions clouded the outlook for a smooth deal around the Strait of Hormuz, which can improve the revenue outlook for upstream producers like ConocoPhillips. Oil climbs as US-Iran clashes muddy outlook for peace deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted ConocoPhillips’ LNG strategy, including Port Arthur and Equatorial Guinea projects, as a longer-term free-cash-flow driver that could support valuation over time. ConocoPhillips LNG strategy emerges as key long-term growth driver
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a value-stock writeup on COP, framing it as an attractive long-term investment, but it appears more educational than a new company-specific catalyst. Why ConocoPhillips is a top value stock for the long term
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that ConocoPhillips may seek safeguards to return to Venezuela point to potential future upside, but the outcome remains uncertain and speculative. Exxon, ConocoPhillips seek safeguards to return to Venezuela

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.