ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 144,641 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 19,691 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $13,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $28,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth $16,344,000. WBI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 698.2% during the third quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 22,079 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $2,088,000 after buying an additional 19,313 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 29.9% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 7,503 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on COP. Mizuho boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Johnson Rice cut ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $108.00 to $105.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Capital One Financial lifted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $120.38.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips was a bidder in a record Alaska National Petroleum Reserve lease sale that drew roughly $163 million in high bids, signaling renewed upstream access and long?term resource optionality for COP in the Arctic. Record Arctic Alaska auction lures ExxonMobil, Shell, Repsol and ConocoPhillips
• Positive Sentiment: Geopolitical flare-ups (missile attacks affecting LNG facilities) have pushed crude and energy prices higher, which should boost ConocoPhillips’ revenue and cash flow in the near term given its oil exposure. Oil Prices Surge After Attacks on Energy Assets in Qatar; Energy Stocks Higher in Premarket Trading
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho raised its price target on COP to $136, reflecting bullish analyst sentiment that can support investor confidence and buying interest. Mizuho Raises ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Price Target to $136.00
• Neutral Sentiment: ConocoPhillips scheduled its first?quarter earnings conference call for April 30; investors will watch the call for updated production, capex guidance and margin commentary that could move the stock. ConocoPhillips to hold first-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, April 30
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and press note U.S. oil producers could see a near?term windfall from higher crude (an estimate cited ~$63B), but they also warn prolonged geopolitical conflict could harm demand and operations—an ambiguous signal for investors. U.S. oil producers could get $63 billion boost from high crude prices
• Negative Sentiment: An executive stock sale: a ConocoPhillips SVP sold about $4.13 million of COP shares, which investors sometimes view as a near?term negative signal on insider sentiment even if sales are for diversification or other reasons. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) SVP Sells $4,128,960.00 in Stock

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.6%

COP opened at $126.78 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $79.88 and a 12 month high of $128.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $109.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.84.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted 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 company had revenue of $13.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.35 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 11.90%. ConocoPhillips’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.98 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at ConocoPhillips

In related news, EVP Nicholas G. Olds sold 14,522 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.36, for a total value of $1,733,345.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,389 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,751.04. The trade was a 53.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.04, for a total transaction of $1,003,340.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 32,984 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,893,431.36. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 100,176 shares of company stock valued at $11,934,877 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.