Venturi Wealth Management LLC Grows Holdings in ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Venturi Wealth Management increased its ConocoPhillips stake by 20.4% in the first quarter, buying 33,127 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 195,792 shares valued at about $25.8 million.
• ConocoPhillips reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.89 per share on revenue of $15.76 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.84 per share, or $3.36 annualized for a 3.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average price target of $134.32, though CEO Ryan Michael Lance recently sold 113,221 shares.

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,792 shares of the energy producer's stock after purchasing an additional 33,127 shares during the period. ConocoPhillips comprises 1.2% of Venturi Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $25,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COP. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $4,318,239,000 after buying an additional 7,037,873 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 229.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 3,595,177 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $336,544,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503,156 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 41,450,162 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $3,880,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,645 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,228,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,216,010 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in ConocoPhillips in the third quarter worth $135,265,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 113,221 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.71, for a total value of $15,025,558.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,448,500. The trade was a 24.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COP opened at $105.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.81. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $85.57 and a 1-year high of $135.87. The firm has a market cap of $128.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.11.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 12.10%.The firm had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $130.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $160.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded shares of ConocoPhillips from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.32.

About ConocoPhillips

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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