Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 22,070 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates reduced its ConocoPhillips stake by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 22,070 shares and leaving it with 144,911 shares valued at about $13.6 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed, with several adding to positions while others trimmed, but institutional ownership remains high at 82.36% of the stock.
• Wall Street remains cautiously optimistic: analysts currently rate ConocoPhillips a “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus target price of $134.48, while the company also recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and pays a $0.84 quarterly dividend.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,911 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 22,070 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $13,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 14.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,331,176 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $220,506,000 after purchasing an additional 298,245 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 8.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,996,426 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $188,842,000 after purchasing an additional 160,410 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 86,171 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $8,067,000 after purchasing an additional 20,501 shares during the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth approximately $1,892,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 155,662 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $14,572,000 after purchasing an additional 14,833 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Roth Mkm lowered ConocoPhillips from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $112.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $134.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total transaction of $15,025,558.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,448,500. This represents a 24.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total value of $1,001,231.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,284 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,287,678.52. This trade represents a 23.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 634,715 shares of company stock valued at $81,410,816. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of COP opened at $115.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $140.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.11. ConocoPhillips has a 1 year low of $85.57 and a 1 year 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 50 day simple moving average of $120.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.41.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is 57.05%.

More ConocoPhillips News

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips joined TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy in an MoU with the Syrian Petroleum Company to explore offshore Block 3 in the Mediterranean, which could create a new long-term exploration opportunity if the project advances. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on COP remains constructive overall, with some analysts highlighting the company’s resilience and others maintaining upbeat price targets, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside potential over time. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Energy stocks broadly have been stronger this year, and the sector ETF’s gains show investors are still favoring oil and gas names despite recent pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips reported solid last quarter results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, which continues to support the investment case even though year-over-year revenue declined.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been negative, with a recent director stock sale adding to a pattern of insider selling that can weigh on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article framed COP as vulnerable to additional market weakness, reinforcing concerns that the stock could stay tied to crude-price moves if oil sentiment softens further. Article Title

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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