UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Purchases New Stake in Phillips 66 $PSX

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,971 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock, valued at approximately $502,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,766,779,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,093,206,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 4th quarter valued at about $640,206,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 462.9% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,727,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $352,007,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243,268 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the second quarter valued at about $271,128,000. 76.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Phillips 66 Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE PSX opened at $240.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $193.87 and its 200 day moving average is $176.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32. Phillips 66 has a 52 week low of $121.24 and a 52 week high of $240.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.17 and a beta of 0.68.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.50 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $52.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.60 billion. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 4.54%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 24.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is 28.95%.

Insider Activity at Phillips 66

In other news, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 3,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.05, for a total value of $743,529.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 27,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,811,683.85. This trade represents a 11.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $6,450,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at $13,242,925. This trade represents a 32.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 100,507 shares of company stock worth $21,770,810 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PSX. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Phillips 66 from $191.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Guggenheim raised Phillips 66 to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Phillips 66 from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Phillips 66 from $212.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.56.

Phillips 66 Profile

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company’s principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.