ConocoPhillips $COP Shares Sold by Midwest Trust Co

Midwest Trust Co reduced its holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 406,535 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 8,109 shares during the quarter. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $38,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 18.2% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 45,645,397 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $4,318,239,000 after acquiring an additional 7,037,873 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 31.3% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,351,010 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $979,102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,467,555 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ConocoPhillips by 20.6% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,994,674 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $1,228,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216,010 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $135,265,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 505.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 589,980 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $55,228,000 after purchasing an additional 735,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.36% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting ConocoPhillips

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Norway approved ConocoPhillips’ plan to restart and redevelop long-idle oil and gas fields in the Greater Ekofisk area, a project expected to increase gas deliveries to Europe and benefit from stronger European energy security demand. Article: ConocoPhillips gets Norway’s nod to restart fields, boost Europe gas supply
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s North Sea revival plan could unlock new gas volumes for Germany, the UK, and other European markets, reinforcing COP’s exposure to a potentially stronger gas pricing backdrop. Article: ConocoPhillips North Sea Revival Ties Undervalued Stock To European Gas Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also parsing analyst questions from COP’s recent Q1 earnings call, suggesting the market is still focused on management’s guidance, capital plans, and the durability of the company’s earnings outlook. Article: The 5 most interesting analyst questions from ConocoPhillips’s Q1 earnings call
• Negative Sentiment: Freedom Capital downgraded ConocoPhillips from strong-buy to hold, which can weigh on sentiment and offset some of the optimism from the Norway project. Article: ConocoPhillips was downgraded by Freedom Capital from strong-buy to hold

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kelly Brunetti Rose sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,893,431.36. This trade represents a 20.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total value of $4,128,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 734,891 shares of company stock valued at $93,345,692. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COP. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Susquehanna raised their target price on ConocoPhillips from $149.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Roth Mkm lowered shares of ConocoPhillips from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $112.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.04.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of COP opened at $113.76 on Friday. ConocoPhillips has a one year low of $84.28 and a one year high of $135.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.69 and its 200-day moving average is $105.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.14.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.62 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

ConocoPhillips Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.05%.

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.