King Luther Capital Management Corp Cuts Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management cut its ConocoPhillips stake by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 81,557 shares and ending with 2.15 million shares worth about $201 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, with EPS of $1.89 versus the $1.72 estimate and revenue of $15.76 billion versus $15.62 billion expected, though revenue declined 6.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, payable June 1, which annualizes to $3.36 per share for a 2.9% yield; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average target price of $134.04.

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,147,411 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 81,557 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises approximately 0.8% of King Luther Capital Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.17% of ConocoPhillips worth $201,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 0.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037,873 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $1,389,862,000 after purchasing an additional 193,401 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,228,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $979,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $116.69 on Wednesday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $84.28 and a fifty-two week high of $135.87. The company has a market cap of $142.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.14. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $108.02.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $128.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Roth Mkm cut shares of ConocoPhillips from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $112.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $1,003,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,984 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,893,431.36. The trade was a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Timothy A. Leach sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.79, for a total value of $4,751,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 411,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,847,754.69. The trade was a 8.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 in the last three months. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About ConocoPhillips

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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