Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 9,514 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,514 shares and leaving it with 117,318 shares valued at about $11.04 million.
• ConocoPhillips received a boost from Norway’s approval to restart and redevelop dormant North Sea fields, a move expected to increase gas supplies to Europe and support the company’s exposure to stronger gas demand.
• Despite the positive project news and an earnings beat, sentiment is mixed: Freedom Capital downgraded COP to hold, while analysts’ consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $133.04.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,318 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 9,514 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $11,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COP. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Norway approved ConocoPhillips’ plan to restart and redevelop long-idle oil and gas fields in the Greater Ekofisk area, a project expected to increase gas deliveries to Europe and benefit from stronger European energy security demand. Article: ConocoPhillips gets Norway's nod to restart fields, boost Europe gas supply
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s North Sea revival plan could unlock new gas volumes for Germany, the UK, and other European markets, reinforcing COP’s exposure to a potentially stronger gas pricing backdrop. Article: ConocoPhillips North Sea Revival Ties Undervalued Stock To European Gas Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also parsing analyst questions from COP’s recent Q1 earnings call, suggesting the market is still focused on management’s guidance, capital plans, and the durability of the company’s earnings outlook. Article: The 5 most interesting analyst questions from ConocoPhillips’s Q1 earnings call
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Capital downgraded ConocoPhillips from strong-buy to hold, which can weigh on sentiment and offset some of the optimism from the Norway project. Article: ConocoPhillips was downgraded by Freedom Capital from strong-buy to hold

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In other news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,287,678.52. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 6,994 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.06, for a total transaction of $888,657.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,395 shares in the company, valued at $685,488.70. The trade was a 56.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $118.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Capital One Financial upped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of ConocoPhillips from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $154.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.04.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $113.76 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.12. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $84.28 and a 12 month high of $135.87. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $138.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.ConocoPhillips's revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.0%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

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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