ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips by 3.1%, bringing its total holdings to 331,716 shares, valued at approximately $34.8 million.
• The company's stock is trading at around $96.62, with a one-year high of $116.08 and a market capitalization of $120.68 billion.
• ConocoPhillips recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, providing an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,716 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 10,677 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $34,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 10Elms LLP purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 341.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COP. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $117.00 price objective (up from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Melius began coverage on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $123.00 price objective (up from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.95.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE COP traded up $0.62 on Thursday, reaching $98.52. The stock had a trading volume of 4,240,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,038,302. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $116.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.24.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.06. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 15.26%.The firm had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. ConocoPhillips's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. ConocoPhillips's payout ratio is 41.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ConocoPhillips news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. The trade was a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.