Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 11,452 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management cut its ConocoPhillips stake by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,452 shares and leaving it with 105,372 shares worth about $9.86 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $15.76 billion, though revenue fell 6.1% year over year from the prior year’s quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, implying a 2.9% annual yield, while Wall Street analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $132.84.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,372 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 11,452 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $9,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COP. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

NYSE COP opened at $117.35 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.14. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $122.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.92. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $84.28 and a 1 year high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 9.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $102.00 price target on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total transaction of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,284 shares in the company, valued at $3,287,678.52. This represents a 23.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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