Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 41,997 Shares of Phillips 66 $PSX

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its stake in Phillips 66 by 4.4% in Q4, selling 41,997 shares and ending the quarter with 907,130 shares worth about $117.06 million (≈0.23% of the company).
• Wall Street views are mixed: several firms raised price targets recently, but the MarketBeat consensus remains "Hold" with an average target of $180.72.
• Phillips 66 raised its quarterly dividend to $1.27 (annualized $5.08) for a 3.2% yield, even as company insiders have sold roughly 95,923 shares (~$16.4 million) over the last three months.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 907,130 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 41,997 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Phillips 66 worth $117,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 223 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PSX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Phillips 66 from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $161.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $163.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Phillips 66 from $158.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Phillips 66 to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.72.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

Phillips 66 stock opened at $160.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $166.03 and a 200-day moving average of $146.52. Phillips 66 has a 1 year low of $95.70 and a 1 year high of $190.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $64.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.76.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.32. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 3.22%.The company had revenue of $32.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is a boost from Phillips 66's previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Phillips 66's payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In other Phillips 66 news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 61,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,442,200.35. This represents a 41.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.37, for a total transaction of $662,606.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,517,193.37. This represents a 30.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,923 shares of company stock worth $16,399,619. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Phillips 66 Profile

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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