Securian Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Phillips 66 $PSX

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Phillips 66 stake by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,560 shares and ending with 10,956 shares valued at about $1.41 million.
• Phillips 66 reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $0.49 EPS versus the expected loss, though revenue of $32.54 billion fell short of analyst estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.27 per share, which annualizes to $5.08 and implies a 2.9% yield; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $184.50 target price.

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Free Report) by 43.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,956 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 8,560 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Phillips 66 were worth $1,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,930,038 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,701,052,000 after buying an additional 205,480 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 462.9% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,727,888 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $352,007,000 after buying an additional 2,243,268 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 2.8% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,400,180 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $319,123,000 after buying an additional 65,568 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 1.5% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,276,036 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $309,586,000 after buying an additional 33,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 424.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,893,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $257,512,000 after buying an additional 1,532,389 shares in the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

PSX opened at $175.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $169.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.82. Phillips 66 has a 12-month low of $109.75 and a 12-month high of $190.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.70.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.54) by $1.03. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The business had revenue of $32.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.90) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 17.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Phillips 66's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PSX. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $172.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $187.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $184.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In other Phillips 66 news, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 16,856 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.22, for a total transaction of $2,835,516.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 97,376 shares in the company, valued at $16,380,590.72. This trade represents a 14.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 42,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $7,255,884.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at $10,442,200.35. The trade was a 41.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,529 shares of company stock valued at $15,740,519. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 NYSE: PSX is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company's principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.

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