UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management Americas LLC reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips by 11.3%, now owning approximately 5.14 million shares worth about $539.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Triumph Capital Management and Ethic Inc., increased their positions in ConocoPhillips, with Ethic Inc. raising its holdings by 208.4%.
• Wells Fargo maintained its "overweight" rating on ConocoPhillips, raising the target price to $117, while other analysts issued mixed ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,138,345 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 653,561 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.41% of ConocoPhillips worth $539,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Triumph Capital Management increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 2,364 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 208.4% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 19,035 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 12,862 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 94,406 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $9,362,000 after acquiring an additional 21,505 shares in the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,994 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 3,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, with a total value of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,369,024.48. This trade represents a 57.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COP shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $117.00 target price (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $116.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.86.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ConocoPhillips stock opened at $91.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $94.79 and a 200 day moving average of $93.03. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $79.88 and a fifty-two week high of $116.08.

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

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is 41.88%.

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.

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