WBI Investments LLC Purchases 19,313 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

WBI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 698.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,079 shares of the energy producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,313 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $4,318,239,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037,873 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,382,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $3,623,946,000 after buying an additional 287,970 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in ConocoPhillips by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,653,966 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,386,119,000 after buying an additional 260,091 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 20.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $1,228,886,000 after buying an additional 2,216,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 31.3% in the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $979,102,000 after buying an additional 2,467,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets—Barclays raised its target to $128 and flagged an “overweight” view, providing near-term buy-side support. Barclays Increases ConocoPhillips Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho (and other houses) raised long-term oil assumptions and lifted ConocoPhillips’ target to $136, reinforcing bullish institutional sentiment tied to higher crude assumptions. Mizuho Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/geopolitical support — analysts and market commentary note that tightening Middle East risk (Strait of Hormuz concerns) has pushed traders to price in higher crude, which benefits ConocoPhillips’ upstream earnings and cash flow leverage. Higher Oil Assumptions and Geopolitical Risk
• Positive Sentiment: Modest institutional buying — Advisory Services Network LLC disclosed a small increase in its COP stake, a signal of continued institutional appetite. Advisory Services Network Increases Holding
• Neutral Sentiment: Asset-level action in Australia — ConocoPhillips’ Australian unit has issued buyout/default notices and is seeking to acquire minority interests in an Otway Basin exploration permit. This could simplify operations and increase control but would require payment at fair-market value; implications for production/timing are unclear. ConocoPhillips Seeks to Buy 3D Energi Stake
• Negative Sentiment: Material insider selling — several senior executives disclosed large stock sales (EVP Nicholas Olds, SVP Andrew Lundquist, SVP Heather Hrap among others) over recent days; large, clustered insider sales can damp investor sentiment and increase near-term supply pressure on the stock. Insider Sales Disclosed

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:COP opened at $122.85 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.58 and a 200 day moving average of $97.26. ConocoPhillips has a 52 week low of $79.88 and a 52 week high of $123.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy producer reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $13.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.98 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 18th were paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 18th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, ConocoPhillips has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total transaction of $1,733,345.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,751.04. The trade was a 53.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 600,884 shares of company stock valued at $58,250,367 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.