Marco Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

Key Points

• Marco Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips by 13.4%, selling 16,325 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with a total of 105,405 shares.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their investments in ConocoPhillips, including Price T Rowe Associates, which raised its position by 13.8%, now holding 45,847,572 shares worth $4.5 billion.
• ConocoPhillips' analysts give it a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $121.33, despite some recent price target reductions by analysts.

Marco Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,405 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 16,325 shares during the period. Marco Investment Management LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $11,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in ConocoPhillips by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 444,137 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $44,045,000 after acquiring an additional 45,522 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,253 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth $13,198,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,703 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 2,436 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in ConocoPhillips by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,320,129 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $230,087,000 after buying an additional 243,100 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COP shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $117.00 price target (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $121.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson bought 5,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares in the company, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.3%

COP traded down $2.19 on Friday, hitting $93.15. The company had a trading volume of 3,465,042 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,152,117. 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 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $116.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.61.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $15.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.64%.

ConocoPhillips 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.