State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 6,773 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 431,642 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 6,773 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $40,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COP. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 58.0% in the third quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 316 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ConocoPhillips Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:COP opened at $125.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $121.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.07. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $84.28 and a 52-week high of $135.87.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The energy producer reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $15.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.90 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 12.98%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 7.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 18th. ConocoPhillips’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.00%.

ConocoPhillips News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting ConocoPhillips this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley bumped its price target to $149 (from $108) and kept an “overweight” rating, implying notable upside versus the recent price — a large broker upgrade that typically supports buying interest. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded COP from “hold” to “strong-buy,” a headline upgrade that can attract retail and some institutional flows. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: ConocoPhillips reported Q1 results showing $2.2 billion in net earnings (about $1.78/share), topping consensus estimates, and announced the quarterly dividend — the beat and cash-generation signal underpin near-term investor confidence. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/commodity support: analysts and outlets point to higher crude prices (tensions in the Middle East) and Goldman Sachs raising its Brent forecast to $90 — a higher oil price backdrop improves ConocoPhillips’ revenue and cash-flow outlook. Goldman/247wallst
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and previews (Yahoo Finance, Globe & Mail, Zacks) highlighted COP as a name to watch into earnings and discussed valuation and sector positioning; useful context but less likely to move the stock alone. Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: Operational caution: Reuters and the company commentary noted Q1 profit fell versus prior year and that lower output weighed on results — a reminder of production risks that can cap upside if volumes don’t recover. Reuters

Insider Activity at ConocoPhillips

In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 506,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.26, for a total transaction of $64,495,368.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,822.10. The trade was a 98.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Andrew D. Lundquist sold 34,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.68, for a total transaction of $4,128,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 17,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,090,689.92. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 734,891 shares of company stock worth $93,345,692 over the last 90 days. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on ConocoPhillips from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research upgraded ConocoPhillips from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on ConocoPhillips from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.44.

ConocoPhillips Company 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.