Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Position in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 364,391 shares and ending with 6,939,728 shares valued at about $649.6 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.89 versus the $1.72 estimate and revenue of $15.76 billion versus $15.62 billion expected, even though revenue fell 6.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, or $3.36 annualized, for a yield of 2.8%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $133.28.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,939,728 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 364,391 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.56% of ConocoPhillips worth $649,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. AXA S.A. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 91.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 84,937 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $7,622,000 after purchasing an additional 40,499 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.1% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 784,368 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $70,397,000 after purchasing an additional 44,852 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the second quarter valued at $151,000. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 53.5% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,806 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

NYSE:COP opened at $120.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.14. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $84.28 and a 52-week high of $135.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.68 and a 200 day moving average of $107.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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 company had revenue of $15.76 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.05%.

Insider Activity

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total value of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. This trade represents a 23.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on COP shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $128.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Capital One Financial reduced their price target on ConocoPhillips from $156.00 to $154.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $128.00 price target on ConocoPhillips in a research report on Friday, May 1st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $133.28.

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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