Ryan Michael Lance Sells 607,000 Shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Stock

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 0.7 %

ConocoPhillips stock opened at $126.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $113.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.01. ConocoPhillips has a 12 month low of $95.70 and a 12 month high of $127.35. The company has a market capitalization of $149.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.32. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 22.08% and a net margin of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that ConocoPhillips will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Johnson Rice cut ConocoPhillips from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $139.00 target price (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $140.00 to $137.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COP. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 25,399 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $2,540,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 1.9% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 512,126 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $51,213,000 after purchasing an additional 9,313 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 59.1% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,810 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in ConocoPhillips by 21.3% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 14,063 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ConocoPhillips

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.