Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 26,426 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in ConocoPhillips by 4.6%, selling 26,426 shares, but still holds 544,496 shares valued at approximately $57.2 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in ConocoPhillips, with Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC growing its stake by 83% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $120.86, signaling a positive outlook for the company despite some slight reductions in price objectives from certain firms.

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Free Report) by 4.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 544,496 shares of the energy producer's stock after selling 26,426 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $57,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 83.0% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,060 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $1,897,000 after buying an additional 8,189 shares during the last quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 159.6% during the first quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 48,800 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $5,125,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 49.3% in the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 801,426 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $83,969,000 after purchasing an additional 264,726 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 853.3% in the first quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,616 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 151.1% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 91,224 shares of the energy producer's stock worth $9,580,000 after purchasing an additional 54,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson acquired 5,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $123.00 price objective (up previously from $119.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Sunday, August 10th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $117.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $120.86.

ConocoPhillips Stock Performance

Shares of COP opened at $92.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.69. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $94.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.98. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $116.08.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The energy producer reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $14.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.39 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business'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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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